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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22423633">Diplomacy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinkCat/pseuds/LinkCat'>LinkCat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Best Friends Forever [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Trolls (2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angry Elders, Broken Rules, Diplomacy, Dragons, Drunk Sex, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Naughty, Rescue Missions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 17:42:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>36,128</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22423633</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinkCat/pseuds/LinkCat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The trolls face major decisions, to assure the safety and happiness of everyone that they love.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Branch/DJ Suki, Creek/Guy Diamond, Harper/Biggie, Poppy/Smidge (Trolls)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Best Friends Forever [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1587811</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Spiritual Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is Part 2 of “Best Friends Forever.” I am sorry for any mistakes I make. I hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been five years since King Basil had discovered he could talk to Bask’s spirit, using Pumpkin’s ability to see and control spirits. Several trollings were born in that time frame. Poppy had a two-year-old boy named Sage that looked like Basil. She also had a one-year old son named Cilantro, that was turquoise with magenta colored hair. They were trying to get pregnant again. They really wanted another girl. Harmony had a four-year-old daughter, who was light teal with royal blue hair. She named her Leaf. DJ Suki had a three-year-old son named Jazz, who was light teal with curly blue hair. Sapphire had married Rhapsody two years earlier. She had been having trouble conceiving and blamed her paralysis. Rose and Juniper had also married and were raising Lavender, Marjoram, and Sassafras together. Guy Diamond had had a baby boy a year earlier, who was lavender glitter, with capri blue hair. They had named him Amethyst. Smidge and Stream had been trying to have another child but were struggling to have anymore little ones. Pumpkin remained their only child.</p><p>Stream has arranged for King Basil to come over for lunch. He wished to discuss King Rocket’s kingdom. Although there had been no wars or issues since they had killed Fern, he wanted to rescue anyone who was innocent in that colony, and assure they were brought to the safety of King Basil, and Queen Poppy’s kingdom, so that they could live their lives safely and stress free. All advances the last five years had ended in tension. King Basil didn’t want anyone else killed. He was very protective of his family, and the entire kingdom. Stream hoped that he would be able to persuade him eventually. He knew it bothered their blind king that there were innocent lives in his old kingdom. Old friends and loved ones that he wanted safe, but fear had been a huge factor.</p><p>Smidge had completely different plans. The twenty-six-year-old dwarf really wanted another child. She planned to get Basil and Stream so drunk so that they would mate with each other. She had been wanting to claim the handsome Basil for the last six years, anyway. She had a feeling if she got them drunk enough, she would get what she wanted.</p><p>King Basil arrived at their flower pod and knocked on the door. He had a feeling Stream was going to try to ask him about his old kingdom again. As much as he wanted to save those who lived there, he feared if anyone set foot in that kingdom, they would be killed. He had only lost a few colony members the last five years to illness or old age. He wanted to keep it that way. Their numbers were great at just over two hundred, but it wasn’t a large enough population that he felt it was worth the risk, besides he had come to love everyone. He was a very active and productive king and didn’t want anyone hurt or killed. He knew there were just too many in his old kingdom that followed Rocket. He knew there would be several unnecessary deaths if they tried. He also wanted and needed Poppy and their children safe.</p><p>Stream answered the door and smiled. “Come on in Basil.” He closed the door when Basil stepped in. He walked over to the kitchen table. “We just finished making lunch. Take a seat and help yourself.” He began explaining what was at the table. He had gotten use to helping Basil, since he was over often to take Pumpkin to his house for playdates.</p><p>Smidge sat at the table and waited for the boys to sit down. She had a smirk on her face. She was excited.</p><p>Basil sat down and began to eat. He took a drink of what tasted like mimosa. “I thought you said this was juice? This is spiked, why?!”</p><p>“It is juice.” Stream looked confused, until he took a sip out of his own glass. He shot a glare at his wife. “Smidge? Why is there alcohol in this?”</p><p>“I thought we might enjoy the day. Live a little. We’re adults after all.” Smidge smirked up at her mate. She wasn’t going to mention that it was the sixth anniversary of Bask’s death, but she thought of using that as an excuse too, if necessary. She wanted to distract Basil.</p><p>“It’s alright Stream. It tastes good. I’ll drink it.” Basil continued to eat and drink. Once he was full, he rested his hand on his belly and groaned. “That was good. Thank you for lunch.” He felt woozy already, but he wasn’t worried about it, yet.</p><p>Stream ate as well and smiled at Basil. “I want to save your old kingdom.” He pushed gently.</p><p>Smidge went to get them another drink. She whistled innocently. She could see that Basil was already a little drunk. She handed off a drink to the each of them. These were a little stronger than the first ones.</p><p>“Stream, we been through this. I don’t want anyone here to die. There are very few trolls at my old kingdom that were kind to my family. By going there and taking those few, we might trigger a war. I want my kingdom and family safe.” Basil drank the next mimosa and licked his lips. “You make great mixers, Smidge.”</p><p>“I realize that we risk a lot by saving a few, but if we use our dragons, we might have a bigger chance.” Stream downed his second mimosa. He glanced at Smidge, when he realized she was getting them drunk. He wondered what she was up to. He hoped she was just trying to get them to relax.</p><p>Smidge drank some of her own Mimosa and listened to them. She glanced between them and smiled.</p><p>Basil groaned and put his hand on his head. “Copper would probably try to eat them. You know how protective he is of me.”</p><p>“That’s my point. Our dragons would be the best defense against the colony members who resist.” Stream chuckled and scooted closer. “Relax…it’s going to be OK.”</p><p>Smidge left to get them more drinks. She liked that Stream got closer to Basil. She came back and gave them each another drink.</p><p>“I’ll think about it.” Basil drank his third mimosa and smiled at Smidge. “Keep these coming Smidge. They taste so good.”</p><p>Stream left to go to the bathroom. He was already starting to stumble.</p><p>Smidge giggled and went to get another drink. Her plan appeared to be working. She returned and gave Basil the drink. She looked hopeful. “Stream says he finds you attractive.”</p><p>Basil blinked a few times and looked down towards Smidge. “Does he? You do realize that adultery is forbidden?”</p><p>Stream came back in and looked between his wife and king. He swayed a bit and groaned. “I’m so drunk. What did you put in those drinks, Smidgypoo?”</p><p>“I know it is, but if you two mated, it would be a one hundred percent chance of having a spiritual child. Wouldn’t it be nice to have more trolls around who have that ability?” Smidge looked hopeful. She led Stream towards Basil and avoided her husband’s question. “We need more spiritual trolls, don’t we dear?”</p><p>Basil hesitated, and then nodded slowly. “We do need more spiritual trolls. That would be very good for the colony.” He swayed a bit. He was quite drunk. He rubbed his member a few times. He had to pee, but was afraid if he got up, he would fall over. He felt his member swell in his pants. He groaned, feeling it twitch.</p><p>Stream rubbed his own member when he saw Basil’s swell up. He pulled Basil to him and began kissing him hungrily.</p><p>Smidge stepped back and watched them with a huge smirk on her face. It was going a lot better then she expected.</p><p>Basil returned the kiss and shoved his hand into Stream’s pants. He began rubbing his member gently. He hadn’t mated with a male, since before Bask died. He missed it. “Poppy will be angry.” Even his drunken brain thought about his wife. He didn’t want her mad.</p><p>“She won’t be mad at you. She loves you.” Stream helped Basil out of his pants and took Basil’s member into his mouth. He began suckling on it gently.</p><p>Smidge rubbed herself and groaned. She liked what she saw.</p><p>Basil held onto Stream’s hair and whimpered. “That feels so good.” He turned Stream around and pulled him close. He got up, removed Stream’s pants, and pushed his length into him. He held him close and began bucking his hips. He moaned Stream’s name. Sex was even better with a full bladder.</p><p>Stream squealed in delight and grasped his knees. He pulled Smidge in for a kiss. “You’re in trouble, my naughty mate.”</p><p>Smidge giggled and kissed him back. “You know you like it.” She moved so she was by his belly. She took his member into her mouth and began to suckle eagerly.</p><p>Basil stopped when his seeds began to fill Stream. He stumbled a few times, before pulling out and heading for the bathroom. He was about to piss himself.</p><p>Stream caught the naughty king and pinned him to the ground. “Oh no, you’re not running off, without getting some too.” He grinded him a few times, before shoving his length into him. He began pounding him hard.</p><p>Smidge walked over and kissed Stream hungrily. She was enjoying this.</p><p>Basil resisted a bit but didn’t tell Stream why he was in a hurry. Especially once he felt his length fill him. He closed his eyes and groaned. “Oh god, that feels so good Stream.” He tightened his muscles, in an attempt to hold his bladder.</p><p>Stream groaned in delight and continued to pound the young king. He liked how Basil felt.</p><p>Smidge turned her attention to Basil. She tested a kiss and groaned when Basil kissed her back. This was going way better then she thought.</p><p>Basil shoved Stream off as soon as Stream had finished up. He held himself and hurried for the bathroom. “I got to piss, or we’re going to have a mess.” He shut the door and went to relieve himself.</p><p>Stream turned his attention to Smidge and pinned her down. He began mating with her next. She had gotten him all hot and bothered.</p><p>Poppy had been on her way home when she heard moans in Smidge and Stream’s flower pod. She knew Basil was there for lunch. She walked in to see what was going on and frowned when she saw her naked husband come out of the bathroom. She shut the door and glared at Stream and Smidge. When reality struck, she gaped her mouth open and gasped. “You three are mating without me?!” She picked up on the scent of alcohol. “All three of you are drunk!”</p><p>Basil suddenly looked worried. He stumbled over to Poppy and frowned. “It’s not what it looks like. It’s her fault!” He pointed at Smidge.</p><p>“Yep, all my fault.” Smidge wrapped her hair around Poppy and pulled her closer. She got her close enough to kiss her.</p><p>Stream smirked and continued to pound his wife. He was enjoying this.</p><p>Poppy gasped when Smidge began to kiss her. She struggled for a moment, and then groaned when Basil hugged her from behind and began pulling her panties off. “You three are in so much trouble. Don’t you dare do this without me again.” She moaned when Basil began mating with her. She had a hard time being mad at him.</p><p>Basil held his wife and pounded her from behind. He was so drunk that he had lost sensibility. He had no idea what they were doing was indeed going to get all four of them into trouble. </p><p>The four of them mated for several hours. Poppy had accepted the idea and had went with it. She had also gotten drunk, knowing that her children were all at the bunker playing, including Pumpkin. After they were done, the four snuggled into bed and took a nap. All four of them appeared to be very happy with what they had just done.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Smidge Is In Hot Water</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Smidge faces punishment for her crime.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Queen Poppy considered herself a fair queen, and had let a few rules slide at times, but what Smidge had done had been foolish. She knew her father would be livid if he found out that she had tricked Basil and Stream into mating with each other, even though she ended up allowing it and participated in it six weeks earlier. So that there would be no question that Queen Poppy was becoming too soft on the colony, she put Smidge on temporary flower pod arrest, with promises to Smidge that she would check on her daily. She didn’t tell her father what Smidge had done. She didn’t want former King Peppy to kill Smidge. She had only told her father that Smidge had committed a horrible crime. She began going through documents. She had wanted for a long time to change the rules, and knew she now had the power to do it, but she knew it wasn’t easy. She wanted to make it so that if a family loved more then one, they could become one large family, or combined homes. Her father had started the process about thirty years earlier, when he was still young himself and loved Bristle. She found out a few years ago that the real reason Bristle had left was because he had been banished, for mating with her father, when he was betrothed to her mother, Lily. She didn’t want that to happen again. There was one problem that remained. The elders. There were still trolls in the village that followed the ancient rules. Rules that she had learned had had devastating consequences for her species, who were low on the food chain. Trolls used to thrive, but it appeared even her own colony was shrinking. She did some investigating and found it that there were three problems. Trolls were dropping dead not long after losing their loved ones to broken hearts, predators were eating them, and it appeared that some families were having trouble conceiving children. Sapphire and Smidge were not the only ones who were having trouble having babies. She heard from Branch that even his colony suffered from fertility issues.</p><p>“I think it’s the water.” Basil was in the middle of changing Cilantro’s diaper. The one year old was just starting to potty train.</p><p>“I think you’re right Basil. It’s time to move.” Poppy sighed softly and put her hand on her belly. She wanted the best for the future, and she suspected she was pregnant again. She wanted her baby safe. She thought about Smidge. She had no idea that Smidge was struggling to get pregnant, but it was time to check on her. “It’s time to check on Smidge.” She got ready and kissed him. She headed out the door and walked towards Smidge’s flower pod. It was only Smidge in the flower pod for now. Stream had moved in with Poppy and Basil, temporarily, with Pumpkin, while Smidge endured her punishment. She got to the flower pod and opened the door. She frowned when she wasn’t greeted immediately. She looked around. “Smidge?”</p><p>Smidge was faded gray and curled up in her bed. She winced when Poppy turned on the light. “The gods are punishing me.” Tears ran down her cheeks. She was covered from the waist down in blood and fluids. She had miscarried her six weeks along embryo.</p><p>“Oh my god…” Poppy took her into her arms and ran towards the medical pod with her. That was a lot of blood for such a small body. She hoped Smidge was alright. Once at the medical pod, she sat her down in a bed. She backed away and watched the medical trolls as they worked on her best friend.</p><p>“It’s my fault.” Smidge whispered as she was carried to the medical pod. She avoided eye contact as she was checked over. Tears flowed down her cheeks. This was her fourth miscarriage. She blamed herself for all her losses.</p><p>Mama Goldie inspected her and frowned. She knew about the miscarriages, but had kept it between her, Stream, and Smidge, for their privacy. She looked at the sad mama and dried her face. “I’m sorry Smidge. I’m not sure what’s going on. Your son is healthy. I’m not sure why you keep losing babies now.”</p><p>Poppy put her hands over her mouth. She felt her heart break for Smidge. She reached over and gave her a tight hug. The reason behind her behavior six weeks earlier was starting to make sense. Smidge wanted a child, badly. “I’m so sorry Smidge. Why didn’t you tell me?”</p><p>“It’s all my fault.” Smidge sniffled and rubbed her face and nose. “I’m too small to have a normal sized child. The gods are only allowing me to have one tiny baby, and now I’m not even allowed to see him anymore.” She was glad she had Pumpkin, but she didn’t want him to be her only child. She was worried that Stream wouldn’t want to be her mate anymore. She was feeling stressed and insecure.</p><p>“Don’t blame yourself Smidge. This isn’t your fault.” Mama Goldie stabilized Smidge and got her comfortable. “I want you to stay here for a few days, and I don’t want you alone anymore. You’re gray, and that worries me.” She set her up with a bag of fluids, and a dose of blood. She didn’t like how pale Smidge was.</p><p>“You’re off house arrest. You’ve been punished long enough.” Poppy frowned and ran her hand along Smidge’s cheek. “I’m sorry for being mad at you.”</p><p>“I did this to myself.” Smidge pushed Poppy’s hand away, and then curled up on her side. She sniffled and closed her eyes. She was hurting badly, physically, mentally, and emotionally.</p><p>“Get some rest Smidge.” Mama Goldie tucked her in and put a cool cloth on the top of her head. Smidge felt warm. She planned to run tests, to check for an infection. She suspected that an infection was the cause of this miscarriage.</p><p>“I’m going to get Stream.” Poppy left to get Stream. She had him keep Pumpkin home and explained on the way what had happened.</p><p>Once at the medical pod, Stream crawled into the bed with Smidge. He held her from behind and whispered to her that he loved her very much. He was sad that they had lost a fourth child. It wasn’t fair.</p><p>Poppy turned to go. She planned to talk to Basil about this. It was time to move. Something wasn’t right in their village anymore. She wanted everyone safe.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Tiny Shimmer Of Hope</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Stream finds out news, that gives Smidge a little light in her darkest hour.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Less than an hour after arriving at the medical pod, Stream got up and left Smidge to go to the bathroom. He had faded gray in grief. He settled down in front of the toilet and began to get sick. He didn’t feel good to begin with, and now he felt awful.</p><p>Smidge heard her mate get sick. She looked worried. She had just found out she had an infection in her bladder, which was likely the cause of her miscarriage. She hoped Stream wasn’t getting sick too. She couldn’t lose him too. Tears ran down her cheeks. “Please be OK.”</p><p>Stream finished getting sick, and then flushed the toilet. He came back out and groaned when Mama Goldie walked over and checked him over. He blushed when she asked him how he got pregnant. “Long story short, I found a surrogate so we could have a baby. I’m glad it worked.” Tears ran down his cheeks. He walked over to his wife and snuggled right back into her. “I’m pregnant sweetheart. We’re going to have another baby.” He really hoped that he would make it to term. He was petrified that they would lose this one too.</p><p>Smidge chocked out a sob and put her hand on his belly. “Hello baby. I’m mama…” She was equally worried but was glad that the baby was in her mate’s belly. She felt that the baby would be safer in there, then in her own pod.</p><p>Mama Goldie smiled softly and walked over to their side. “Stream? It felt like twins. Take it easy, alright papa?” She wasn’t going to question further about how he conceived babies. She knew they had been struggling for a few years.</p><p>Stream nodded slowly and sniffled. He put his hand on his belly and cried. He was extremely grateful for Basil’s precious gift, even if they hadn’t exactly planned this. It was the shine they needed right now. “I love them already…”</p><p>“I love them too.” Smidge snuggled with her mate and cried hard. She had been very emotional all day.</p><p>Basil came into the medical pod and walked over to Smidge’s bed. He reached down and gave her a hug. “I want you to know I was never mad at you, and neither was Poppy. We just had to make sure others knew that crimes cannot go without punishment. I’m so sorry that you lost your baby.” He already knew about Stream’s pregnancy. He sensed the life within him and was afraid to tell them now. Their hearts were already obviously crushed.</p><p>Poppy wasn’t far behind him. She had a tiny box in her hand. She had found the tiny embryo. “Smidge? Are you up to a funeral? I’m going to bury your baby.”</p><p>Stream had tears in his eyes. “We can have a funeral?” He had buried the other three lost children on his own, but he didn’t think Poppy would hold a funeral for something so tiny.</p><p>“I’m not strong enough to go right now. Please bury my baby and give it love…” Smidge avoided eye contact with either of them. She had shied from Basil’s touch too. She felt like she betrayed her friends by not communicating her pain.</p><p>“We’ve got this.” Basil rubbed Smidge’s back and frowned when she pushed him away. He knew she was hurting badly. “I’m sorry for your loss.” He led Poppy out of the medical pod to give Smidge and Stream time to process and cope. “He’s pregnant with triplets.”</p><p>“They’re not living alone right now. Especially with three babies on the way.” Poppy looked back as she carried the box towards the graveyard. She was hoping this would be the last soul they buried here. She had already told Basil that she wanted to move as soon as Smidge was stable enough to leave the medical pod. “Have you told Stream about your twins?”</p><p>“No, he’s not ready for that.” Basil rested his hand on his belly. He was pregnant himself. Dill had declared it to him earlier that morning. The young prince was just as strong of a spirit troll as he was.</p><p>“Don’t keep it from them for too long. They’ll rejoice that sort of news right now.” Poppy got to the graveyard and placed the box on the ground by Bask’s grave. She knew he would take good care of the little one. “Let’s get ready for this funeral.” She led Basil home. They had a lot of planning to do, and it was never easy burying little ones. This one was going to be hard. Especially now that they knew how hard Smidge had been working towards having little ones and knowing there was a chance it was Basil’s child too.</p><p>A few hours later, Poppy gathered her friends and family only. She didn’t want to tell the whole village, but she knew Smidge needed the support of her family and friends. “Thank you for coming here today, to witness the burial of Baby Smidge. I discovered today, that this little one is the fourth lost child of Smidge and Stream. May the spirits take this baby into their arms and help the little one spread it’s wings and fly. Fly high sweet baby. You may not have had a chance at life, but you will not be forgotten.”</p><p>Basil had his children with him, including little Pumpkin, and was explaining to them that Smidge had had a baby too early and that it hadn’t survived.</p><p>“She’s pretty daddy. She’s right next to you.” Rainbow watched a tiny angelic trolling, pressed right next to Basil. She was turquoise with blue green hair.</p><p>“Very pretty.” Pumpkin snuggled into Basil and sniffled. “Why did she have to die?”</p><p>“She looks like a beautiful mix of you and Smidge. I’ve got her now Basil. I’ll take good care of her.” Bask gently picked up the tiny girl. He knew babies didn’t last long on the earth as spirits. Soon she would spread her wings and fly up to heaven.</p><p>“Some babies are just too beautiful for the world sweetheart. Just like sometimes trolls die at a young age. They’re too beautiful to be bound to earth.” Basil sniffled and rubbed his face of tears. Bask confirmed that this little one would have been biologically his. It made her death sting that much more. He really wanted another girl. It really wasn’t fair.</p><p>“I don’t want anyone else to die daddy.” Rainbow frowned and snuggled into him. “I can’t hug them if they’re dead.”</p><p>“I’m not going to let anymore of them die.” Pumpkin said firmly. He had a determined look on his face.</p><p>Basil couldn’t help but stifle out a soft chuckle. Of course, Pumpkin was going to try and prevent anymore deaths. “If we don’t let some trolls die, we wouldn’t have any more angels looking over us anymore.” He knew the reality was that they would all one day die. He hoped of old age, but that wasn’t the case for everyone. He hoped for his family, that death came peacefully and at as old of an age as possible. He began to sing as he held the children close. They gave him comfort during this difficult time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is the song that Basil sang. I do not own the song. All credit goes to the creators of the song!</p><p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dopcENaTkrw</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Pleas Of A Father</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A scare has Basil begging for a miracle.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shortly after Smidge’s baby was buried, Rainbow and Pumpkin both suddenly collapsed next to Basil. Alarmed, Basil picked them up and hurried for the medical pod. It was not unusual for Rainbow to occasionally collapse if she had a fever, but he didn’t feel a fever on her, and Pumpkin had also collapsed. That scared him. As he hurried towards the medical pod, he checked their pulses. Pumpkin’s heart was beating hard and strong, but he couldn’t find Rainbow’s heartbeat. He screamed that he needed help as he rushed into the medical pod. He sat his daughter and godson down on a bed and backed away. “I don’t know what happened!” He sobbed into his hands. He was petrified that Rainbow had died suddenly.</p><p>Poppy wasn’t far behind him. She had a bad feeling something was wrong with the children when he rushed off with them. She put her hands over her mouth as she watched the medical trolls work on the little ones. She began to sob when she saw Mama Goldie work on chest compression on little Rainbow.</p><p>“What’s wrong with them?!” Dill had followed them as well. He had tears in his eyes. He had never seen his father and mother panic like that before.</p><p>Mama Goldie noticed that Rainbow’s heart was only fluttering. She had got to work on trying to revive Rainbow. “Were they eating?!” She checked for a foreign body in the little one’s throat but didn’t see anything. She gave her a few breaths, and continued chest compressions.</p><p>“No! They were both beside me cuddling!” Basil trembled in fear. He didn’t like how weak he could sense Rainbow was and Pumpkin wasn’t much better.</p><p>Smidge came hurrying over. She sobbed when she saw that her only child was unconscious. “Is my baby OK?!”</p><p>Stream hurried over and sobbed when he saw that both children appeared to be at death’s door. This was a nightmare. He held Smidge and trembled with fear. He whispered a prayer. He hoped both of them would survive whatever it was that suddenly inflicted them.</p><p>Poppy sniffled and picked up Dill. She led her children out of the medical pod and hurried for the bunker. A dark thought crossed her mind. She hoped someone wasn’t trying to hurt the children. They were the future and they didn’t deserve this. Once at the bunker, she begged Branch to watch them and told him that she planned to start an investigation. Rainbow may have had Febrile Fever, but Pumpkin was healthy. Something was definitely wrong in her kingdom.</p><p>After several agonizing minutes, Rainbow’s heart began to beat again. She took shaky breaths. She was unconscious but had survived her sudden arrythmia.</p><p>Another doctor that was in the medical pod watched on and mumbled something inaudible, before leaving the medical pod.</p><p>Basil sensed that that doctor had dark thoughts. He hurried after him and stopped him. “Would you like to tell me what you just said?!”</p><p>“She’s going to have brain damage. Just another dependent on our society. Dr. Goldie should have stopped after three minutes of trying and she should have died.” Dr. Olive frowned and looked Basil up and down. “There are too many of them here. It’s making us weak.” The sixty-five-year-old doctor was getting tired of the extra work that the handful of disabled trolls created for him. Too much time as a doctor without a break had made him sour and cold hearted.</p><p>“Them? Do you mean the disabled?! So what?!” Basil sneered and grabbed him by the arm. “With that statement, you’re retired. If I catch you hurting anyone in the village, I’m going to kill you personally! You’re talking about my only daughter! I should kill you now for those words! She didn’t ask for this!” He shoved him away, and then went back into the medical pod. He didn’t want to be away from his sick daughter.</p><p>Dr. Olive stumbled a few steps, before walking away. A smirk spread over his face. He was one of the elders of the village. He headed for Ukulele’s home. He was going to gather the council. King Basil was going to pay for retiring him before he was ready. He also planned to talk about Stream’s sudden pregnancy. It was time that order was set in the village again. He had been trying to take care of the disability problem himself, but it seemed that he now needed help.</p><p>Basil walked over to Rainbow’s bedside and took her hand. “Don’t you worry about a thing Rainbow. Daddy loves you and will take care of you no matter what happens. I’m sorry that you almost died. I got you.” He kissed her hand and sniffled. He always felt like Rainbow was just a tiny gift from the gods. One he might not have forever. He was so scared that he would lose her. “Please stay strong.” He closed his eyes and began to pray. “God, I know you showed me a long time ago that your will, will be done, but I beg of you. I only had two special gifts from my first love. I do not want to lose my only girl, and the second born of Bask’s. She’s so precious. Please let her stay here. I don’t think my heart can take losing her too.”</p><p>“You got her in here fast. She might be just fine Basil.” Mama Goldie reassured her worried king. She got to work on testing both children. She had no idea what caused their collapses.</p><p>Smidge had crawled into the bed and was holding Pumpkin as the medical trolls worked on her baby boy. Tears ran down her cheeks as she listened to him breathe. She didn’t want to lose him either. She glanced up when she felt a nurse set her fluids back up. She had pulled her intravenous line when she came over to check on her son. She was more worried about him then herself.</p><p>Stream sat at the edge of the bed and took Basil’s hand. He gave his hand a squeeze and whispered to him that he was there as a support.</p><p>Basil leaned into Stream and sobbed. He needed his friends and family right now. He was so glad that he had their support. He wanted the best for his baby girl.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Debate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>King Basil and Queen Poppy bring up touchy subjects in an attempt to protect the innocent.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After Rainbow and Pumpkin were considered stable, King Basil and Queen Poppy gathered the colony members for a colony meeting. Once they were all gathered, the two rulers stood in front of their colony. Queen Poppy cleared her throat and looked among her colony. “It was brought to my attention that some of you feel the need to discriminate against some of the colony members that are less fortunate then ourselves. I want you all to know, that that won’t be tolerated so long as I am queen of our colony. I’ve come to know and love everyone in this village, and I will not allow anyone to get hurt that doesn’t deserve it.”</p><p>“They’re taking up valuable resources and are a waste of time!” Dr. Olive shouted angrily. The stubborn olive-green troll wanted the disabled to go away. His dark green eyes were full of anger. “Some of them don’t pull their own weight around and we don’t need more!” His age showed in the many wrinkles and his dark gray hair, that used to be a dark shade of green.</p><p>“Not to mention that one of our villagers has decided to commit adultery. That is not only forbidden, but it’s a crime punishable by death. Are we really going to sit here and allow our village to degrade like King Rocket’s kingdom? We all know that his colony is dying. Do we want that for us?” Ukulele chimed in. The lavender troll had gray hair, and worried violet colored eyes. She looked concerned for a couple of reasons. Dr. Olive had pushed her to speak up. She had no idea who it was that had a forbidden pregnancy. If she had known, she wouldn’t have said a thing. Stream was her grandson.</p><p>“Olive, the trolls you speak of do pull their weight around, you just don’t see it, because you choose not to see it. I would love to see what your definition of disabled is, because in my old kingdom, I was considered disabled myself, but I sure pull my own weight around here myself. Ukulele, King Rocket is so strict with rules that if someone commits even the smallest crime, he kills them. He also killed innocent lives, because he didn’t give them a trial. If he had known the circumstances behind some of the crimes, he would have been less likely to kill. He also killed innocent teenagers when they were raped, because they got pregnant. If the crime was too bad, he killed whole families. That’s not OK!” Basil was fuming angry but held back physically attacking Dr. Olive. He was very protective of his family, and several of his family members were disabled in one way or another, including himself, Sapphire, Petal, Symphony, Harmony, and his young daughter, Rainbow.</p><p>“I consider anyone who is dependent on other trolls for help, disabled. That includes the blind, deaf, brain damaged, paraplegic, mute, and dwarves. If we were not around to help them, they wouldn’t have survived.” Dr. Olive crossed his arms. “Even you need help with some tasks Basil. You’re not without some dependency yourself.”</p><p>Poppy put her hand on Basil’s arm. She had a feeling her mate was livid. “Don’t worry Basil. I’m here sweetheart.” She looked at Dr. Olive. “Basil makes up with his blindness in several ways. He is a great king and father. To claim he is dependent is foolish. He rarely needs my help or anyone else’s help, and when he does, it’s because it’s a task that requires sight, such as reading or writing, which I am perfectly capable of doing on my own. Just to remind you, most trolls here didn’t know he was blind for weeks after meeting him. He has learned how to be independent as much as he physically can.”</p><p>“I’m not as worried about his blindness, as I am about the trolls here who have brain damage or are unable to physically take care of themselves. It’s a burden and puts us in great danger!” Dr. Olive was talking mostly about Petal and Rainbow. “I think we should get rid of those who are slowing us down and prevent the births of anymore who put us at the most risk.”</p><p>“I’m more worried about the broken rules. The troll who got pregnant from adultery should be executed.” Ukulele looked uncomfortable. She was worried about the tension in the crowd.</p><p>Basil was flushed red with anger at this point and was losing his patience. “You’re talking like trollings should be aborted if they are considered high risk. What are you saying?! We should kill everyone who is dependent in one way or another?! I won’t allow it!” He shot a glare towards Ukulele. “Your grandson is pregnant Ukulele, and only because Smidge hasn’t been able to hold a baby to term. Do you really want to execute your own grandson and great grandchildren?!” He didn’t dare admit to his own pregnancy at that moment. He already planned to hide his pregnancy, if necessary. It was a nightmare if it was necessary. It was his first pregnancy, all over again. He was going to keep his babies safe.</p><p>“No one is going to be executed.” Poppy glared at the elders. “As Queen of this village, and the one in charge of the lives of everyone here, I demand that you all leave the disabled and pregnant trolls alone. If anyone is killed under suspicious circumstances, I will cease all contact that that troll has with our community, whether they are banished or put to death for their crimes. I will not allow unnecessary deaths. The trolls you speak of are innocent.”</p><p>“Adultery is not an innocent act! Stream mated willing with a male troll and got pregnant while married! He should be killed for his crime, and so should the male who got him pregnant!” Dr. Olive snapped angrily. He looked around at the crowd. “It’s time to turn over the leadership of this colony and let someone who is wiser take over! King Peppy committed his own crimes when he was young, and look what leniency led to?! Our own queen is allowing adultery in her kingdom! This needs to end now!”</p><p>“Olive, that’s my grandson and great grandchildren. I…I can’t follow through with this.” Ukulele was having second thoughts. She knew her grandson and didn’t think he did this act out of spite. “Smidge would have certainly allowed it, and even encouraged it to have another child. She didn’t want Pumpkin to be an only child. That’s not adultery…”</p><p>“They don’t need anymore runts anyway.” Dr. Olive glared at Ukulele. He wasn’t going to admit it out loud, but he had been assuring that certain trolls got contraceptives, and those who still got pregnant, he assured had abortions, without talking to the families about it. He didn’t want anymore disabled trolls in the village.</p><p>“What did you call Pumpkin?!” Basil went to charge Dr. Olive, but Poppy held him back. He struggled in her grasp. “Let me go Poppy! He wants to kill Stream and that’s not OK! He’s my best friend! He wants for us to step down too. I won’t allow it!”</p><p>“This is not going to turn violent Basil. Calm down and breathe. We must talk this over peacefully. There is no need to start a war over something that can be discussed.” Poppy gently wrapped her hair around her angry mate and held him firm. She knew he was livid, but she didn’t want this debate to turn for worse. There was already one troll that wanted to take away their crown. She didn’t want the entire village to take it away as well.</p><p>Ukulele moved away from Dr. Olive and went to stand next to Queen Poppy and King Basil. “You’re talking about my grandson and great grandson, Olive. I don’t appreciate you calling Pumpkin a runt. This has now become personal. I refuse to take further action on this issue. I will protect my family.”</p><p>“You’re all becoming too soft! Our colony is shrinking! We need to take action before it’s too late!” Dr. Olive snapped. He watched as half the colony joined King Basil and Queen Poppy. He looked at the other half. It seemed that half the colony agreed with him, for now. “I would hate to see the village split apart. Think about what you’re doing and allowing, Queen Poppy, or your regime will end with you.” He spat, before turning to leave. He was livid and was going to get his way, one way or another. His mind was already made up. He planned to have a discussion with Ukulele later, for going against him. She was going to pay for betraying him.</p><p>Basil listened to him leave, and slowly calmed down. He turned to Poppy, while still wrapped in her hair. “If he hurts anyone I love, I will kill him. I’m very protective of everyone that I love.” He glared in her direction. He knew she was stubborn, but he was tenacious too. He was going to protect his family with his life.</p><p>“Not everything has to end in violence Basil. Take a deep breath and let’s walk together to go check on Rainbow and Pumpkin. I’m sure they’ll appreciate us coming by to see them, whether they are awake yet or not.” Poppy took Ukulele’s hand and then took Basil’s hand and led them towards the medical pod. She was glad that the debate ended without any violence, but she knew this wasn’t the end of it. She knew Olive was stubborn. They were going to face a lot of deliberation, before everything came to a head and calmed down. She just hoped that it wouldn’t result in a war. The population was already dangerously low. She didn’t want it to shrink any smaller.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Flames Of Fiery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Olive makes a decision that affects the life of Ukulele.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shortly after the debate, Ukulele made it home to get ready for bed. It had been a long day for the seventy-year-old elder. She turned on the light to her flower pod and startled when she saw that Olive was sitting in her recliner chair. “Go home Olive. I want to go to bed.” She was tired and sad. She hated seeing Stream cry. They were all very worried about Pumpkin too. They were not able to find out why either him or Rainbow had collapsed, and both were still unconscious.</p><p>“Last I checked, you were not in charge of me.” Olive got up and walked over to her. “You’re siding with them?! This colony is falling apart! As elders of this village, we must protect our colony for disaster! Those trolls are going to be the death of us all!”</p><p>“Olive, you know as well as I do that Basil is right. Those who do need a little extra help are still able to pull their own weight around, and we have the resources to handle the very few who can’t.” Ukulele pointed at her door. “Now get out of my house! I didn’t give you permission to be in here!”</p><p>Olive grabbed her by the arm. “You’re not in charge of me Ukulele!” He walked her towards her room and shoved her into bed. “You’re going to help me overturn the royal family, or I’m going to force your submission. I’ll tell you again, that you must help me get rid of the disabled! This is your last warning!”</p><p>“What are you going to do with me Olive?! This is my home!” Ukulele stumbled into her bed and glared up at him. “Get the hell out of here!”</p><p>“You give me no choice.” Olive proceeded to beat her. “I’m going to get my way. I’m tired of taking care of trolls who shouldn’t even exist!” He ripped her clothes off and shoved her into the bed. A dark thought came over the old man. He hadn’t mated in years, since before his own wife had died. He removed his pants and began raping the old widow. He didn’t think he had anything to worry about. Her own husband died a few years earlier, and no one was going to interrupt them.</p><p>Ukulele resisted at first, but soon lost the strength to fight back. She looked away as tears ran down her cheeks. She wasn’t sure what to do. She had never been beaten or raped before, and as far as she knew, Olive had more power in the village then she did. She was not aware that he was forced to retire. She had a feeling no one would believe her if she claimed he raped her.</p><p>Once Olive was done, He pulled his pants back on and glared at her. “Now, you’re going to listen to me and help me. Do I make myself clear?!”</p><p>“Fuck you Olive…” Ukulele was sore from bruises and rough sex. She cringed when he pinned her down again.</p><p>“Apparently I didn’t make myself clear enough.” Olive grabbed her arm and twisted it until he heard a pop. He cringed when she screamed. “Shut up!” He put a pillow over her face to cover up some of the volume of her scream.</p><p>Ukulele sobbed in pain. She startled when he put the pillow over her face. She had a bad feeling he was going to kill her. She hoped that her family stayed safe. She wanted the best for them, and hoped that Olive didn’t hurt them, like he just hurt her.</p><p>The screams got the attention of Creek. He hurried inside and pulled Olive off his grandmother. He looked at Olive and sneered. “What the hell is going on in here?!” He shoved Olive away from Ukulele and began checking her over. He frowned, noticing she was bruised and battered. He picked her up and carried her towards the medical pod.</p><p>Olive hurried home. He had a feeling he was in trouble. He locked his door and went to hide in his bedroom.</p><p>Ukulele groaned and cringed as her broken arm dangled beside her. She reached over and moved it to her chest, so it was a little more stable. She was trembling in pain. “I don’t want to live alone anymore. He raped me…” She hoped that Creek would take her in. She didn’t want Olive to do this to her again.</p><p>“I’m so sorry grandma. I won’t let you live alone anymore.” Creek got her into the medical pod and gently sat her down in a bed. He looked at Stream. “Come with me Stream. We have an ass to kick.” He left to go take care of Olive.</p><p>Stream got off the bed Smidge was on and walked over to Ukulele. He watched as the medical trolls got to work on her arm and checking her over. He frowned and followed Creek out the door. “She looks like she was beaten. What happened?!”</p><p>“Olive was trying to suffocate her with a pillow when I came in. I believe he’s responsible for this.” Creek was livid. Ukulele was strict and set in her ways, but she was a sweet grandmother and great grandmother. He was fuming that Olive had hurt her.</p><p>Stream clenched his fists. “Why would he do that?!” He walked with his brother towards Olive’s home, since that’s where he was last seen by Creek. The angry twins helped break down the door, and then searched for him. The found him and dragged him outside. They proceeded to beat him angrily. No one messed with their family.</p><p>King Basil heard the commotion and came running over. “What’s going on?!” He had gone home for the night with Queen Poppy to be with their children, so he had no idea of what happened, but the sounds of yelps caught his attention.</p><p>“He just beat grandma Ukulele!” Creek snapped angrily. He showed no mercy. “He raped her too! She told me he had! She was naked and smelled like sex! I believe her!”</p><p>“He tried to kill her!” Stream was helping. He was normally a peaceful troll, but he was very protective of all of his family. Smidge had also been a deep influence on him.</p><p>King Basil sneered and began to beat Olive too. “I warned you if you hurt anyone, I would kill you!”</p><p>Creek pulled out his knife and pinned Olive down. He cut his penis off. He got off him and sneered. “Let him bleed to death!”</p><p>“Boys! Stop it! Violence is not the answer to everything!” Queen Poppy came over and shoved them away. She picked up the battered elder and hurried towards the medical pod. She had no idea what was going on, but she wasn’t going to let the old doctor die, yet.</p><p>“He raped and beat our grandma!” Stream snapped angrily. He followed Poppy to the medical pod. He was hot.</p><p>Basil followed his wife and tried to stop her. He yelped when she whapped him with her hair. “He needs to be killed for raping Ukulele!”</p><p>Creek cleaned his knife and followed Poppy. “He needs to die for his crime!”</p><p>“He gets a fair trial, before he’s executed! You all know that is how I manage this kingdom. You’re not to touch him again!” Poppy snapped angrily, as she sat Olive down to get treatment. She had taught Basil better than this and was angry at him. Once Olive was settled, she walked over to Ukulele and got her side of the story. She was going to investigate this, before anything else happened to Olive.</p><p>Olive had passed out from blood loss but had survived the attack. He laid unconscious as the medical trolls worked on saving his life. He was in critical condition.</p><p>“It’s clear what he did!” Stream snapped at Poppy. He was livid. He took Pumpkin into his arms and helped Smidge to her feet. He moved them over to Ukulele’s side, since she was still receiving care. He wasn’t going to sleep until all three were stable and could leave the medical pod. He wanted them safe.</p><p>“He participated in a violent crime! He isn’t going to survive this!” Basil growled, and stormed off, since he knew better then to argue with his wife. He was king, but she was ultimately the one in charge, and he knew that. He didn’t want to lose her if she suddenly wanted to split their family apart. He was nervous and stressed.</p><p>“You can’t protect him forever Poppy. I saw him trying to kill my grandma!” Creek joined Stream and their family by Ukulele. He was beyond livid.</p><p>Poppy made sure Olive got care, and then turned to her friends. “He’s innocent until proven guilty! No one is to touch him, unless it’s for treatment!” She headed for the door and called some scouts. She asked them to watch Olive, so she could go home and talk to Basil. She wanted an explanation. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Boiling King</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>King Basil shows his temper towards his queen.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Queen Poppy came home from the medical pod and slammed the door so hard that the flower pod shook. She looked around for Basil. She was angry with him. “Basil?! Where are you?! We need to talk about what just happened!”</p><p>Basil was in his studio, trying to paint. He was shaking so hard that the paint was splattering on himself and the floor. He always had tarps on the floor because he was a messy painter, so the extra mess wasn’t a big deal. “I’m busy, painting, since you wouldn’t let me kill that monster!”</p><p>“I’ve told you, that you must control your temper Basil! Did you know for a fact that Olive committed his accused crime or did you just jump to helping them attack?!” Poppy took his brush away and put it in a jar of water. She wiped his arm and hand of wet paint. “No more painting right now. We need to have a serious conversation.”</p><p>“Poppy! Damn it! I was painting!” Basil sneered as she cleaned the wet paint off his skin. He glared towards her. “Have you forgotten that I can sense emotions?! Olive had a guilty conscious, and both Creek and Stream were extremely angry! Regardless of what I know and don’t know, he did something wrong! He has been accused of raping Ukulele! I refuse to let a rapist live to hurt another soul! My sisters were both raped as teenagers! I don’t want to see it happen to another living soul, ever again!”</p><p>“He’s not going to rape again Basil! His penis was amputated! He needs a fair trial. Have you forgotten that he has saved several lives, including your own! He was the one that preformed your surgery when you were nearly stabbed to death by Shrimp!” Poppy had her arms crossed. She was livid. “I don’t think he did it!”</p><p>“I’m glad his penis is gone! Now explain his guilt!” Basil snapped angrily. He frowned, when he realized their fight had awaken their boys. He calmed his voice down. “I want my family safe.”</p><p>“I don’t know why he was guilty.” Poppy calmed her voice down when he calmed down. “I know you want your family safe Basil. I want them safe too. We’re going to get this figured out, and until then, they’re going to watch him and make sure he doesn’t do anything bad. It’s going to be alright.”</p><p>“I sure hope so Poppy.” Basil sank into his chair and put his face into his hands. He was exhausted and stressed out. “I don’t like that he’s in there with Rainbow.”</p><p>“She’s going to be alright. She’s tough, like her father.” Poppy sat on his lap and snuggled into him. She held him and ran her hands through his long, two toned hair.</p><p>“I hope you’re right.” Basil snuggled with her and looked up when Dill came in. “Go back to bed son.”</p><p>“Are you both OK? You look stressed out mommy and daddy.” Dill walked over to them and snuggled into the chair with them.</p><p>“We’re alright.” Poppy held Dill and played with his orange hair. “Just worried about Rainbow.”</p><p>“Yeah buddy, very worried about sissy.” Basil teared up and sniffled.</p><p>“Sissy is going to be OK daddy. She told me so, right before she helped sissy.” Dill yawned and closed his eyes. He was very tired. “Bedtime…” He began to doze, now that he was snuggled with his parents.</p><p>Poppy looked confused but didn’t question it for now. Dill had a vivid imagination. She got off Basil’s lap and picked up Dill. She carried him towards his bedroom.</p><p>Basil listened to her leave. He put his feet up in his recliner chair and put a blanket on himself. He didn’t feel like sleeping in bed that night. He had calmed down, but he was still very upset with Poppy.</p><p>Poppy soon returned and frowned when she saw that Basil had made himself comfortable. She closed the door so he could have peace. She headed for bed, to sleep alone, for the first time in nearly six years. “I’m sorry Basil. We have to do this the right way…” She crawled into bed and was soon asleep.</p><p>Basil heard that she closed the door. He closed his eyes and began to doze off into a restless night of sleep.</p><p>At the medical pod, Olive had regained consciousness. He looked around and winced from the pain he had from his amputation. He laid eyes on Ukulele, who was on the other side of the medical pod from him. He could see that her arm was splint and elevated. She had oxygen on her nose, and a cold compress on her forehead. She had intravenous fluids in her other arm and had been set up with a dose of blood. He wondered why she was getting blood. He looked up and frowned, seeing he was also getting fluids and blood. He groaned and shifted. “What happened? Why are we in the medical pod?”</p><p>Ukulele startled at the sound of Olive’s voice. She whimpered and shifted in her bed. She was weak from internal bleeding. She was in a lot of pain and didn’t feel good.</p><p>“You were beaten after Ukulele accused you of raping her.” Olive’s son, Parsnip, was beside him. He was yellow, with dark green hair. The forty-two-year-old watched his dad with worried dark green eyes. “You didn’t do it, did you dad?”</p><p>“Of course, not…” Olive reached to touch where his penis used to be. He noticed there was bandages there. He recalled it being removed, before losing consciousness. He groaned and looked away. “I’m in a lot of pain. I want pain medicine.” He watched as his former collages worked on giving him pain medication.</p><p>“It’s going to be OK dad. Poppy saved you. You’ll get a fair trial.” Parsnip reassured his father. He didn’t understand why Ukulele would suddenly go against him like that. He was unaware of his father’s sins and believed him. He planned to be beside him through this difficult time. He was protective of his family too.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Journal Of Doctor Olive</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>When an emergency surgery is needed, evidence that Olive did more than it appears, becomes apparent.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>About an hour later, Ukulele began to crash. She was losing too much blood, slowly, from the inside. She was in and out of consciousness. The last time she was awake, she told her grandsons that she loved them, and was about to go be with her husband, deceased son, and daughter in law.</p><p>Stream had tears in his eyes. He looked at Mama Goldie. “Is there a way we can save her, Dr. Goldie?!” His mother and father had died recently, and he didn’t want to lose his grandma too. Especially under suspicious circumstances.</p><p>“I’m going to try Stream.” Mama Goldie took Ukulele back to surgery. She hoped for Stream that she survived her attack. He didn’t need to lose anymore loved ones. It had been a hard year for him and his family.</p><p>The last thing Ukulele saw was Stream’s worried expression, before she passed out again. She was a very sick elder.</p><p>“She’s just faking it.” Olive grumbled and looked away. He didn’t think he hurt her that badly. He frowned, realizing he left something in the surgical area that he didn’t want Mama Goldie seeing. He was normally the troll that preformed most of the surgeries. He got up and headed for the backroom.</p><p>“Dad, you can’t go back there.” Parsnip stopped him and frowned. “Lay back down and rest. You lost a lot of blood.”</p><p>Olive cursed internally. He headed back to his bed and laid back down. He ignored the intense glares coming from Creek and Stream. He silently hoped that Mama Goldie didn’t find what he wanted to hide.</p><p>Mama Goldie went to give Ukulele sedatives and found medicine in with the needles that was used to induce labor. She wondered why they were in there. She pulled them out and sat them inside. She also saw a journal that belonged to Olive. She tucked it into her hair. They were investigating his behavior and knew Poppy would want that to read through. For now, her focus was saving Ukulele. She prepared for the surgery and got to work on closing up the broken blood vessels that were threatening Ukulele’s life.</p><p>A few hours later, Mama Goldie brought Ukulele out of surgery. She settled her down next to Smidge and covered her with a blanket. “This old girl is tough as dried beans. She’s not out of the woods, but I believe as tenacious as she is, she’ll survive this.”</p><p>Stream got up and hugged Mama Goldie. He stifled a sob. “Thank you so much…” He sniffled and looked at his grandma. He hoped she was right, and that Ukulele would survive.</p><p>Creek joined in the hug. “You’re a true lifesaver.” He was very grateful.</p><p>“You’re so welcome boys. I want my grandbabies to enjoy their great grandma Lele a little longer.” Mama Goldie hugged them and smiled. She was Guy Diamond’s mom, and knew that River, Quartz, and Agate would appreciate her help in saving their great grandma’s life too. She broke the hug and smiled at them. “I’ll be right back boys.” She stopped by one of the scouts and asked them to make sure peace remained in the medical pod while she was gone. She left to go talk to King Basil and Queen Poppy. She planned to give Poppy the journal. Once at their flower pod, she knocked on the door.</p><p>King Basil got up and walked to the door. He answered it and frowned. “Is Rainbow alright?” He rubbed his eyes. He had only gotten a couple of hours of sleep. He was tired and cranky.</p><p>“She’s still unconscious, but she’s stable. I found one of Olive’s journals. I thought you and Poppy might want it for evidence. I also found medication next to it that was for labor induction. I’m not sure why it was there. It’s not where it belongs.” Mama Goldie removed the journal out of her hair and gave it to Basil. She explained briefly what she had found when she preformed surgery on Ukulele as well. She explained her injuries were inflicted by another troll.</p><p>Queen Poppy watched on from behind Basil. She was tired and felt a little nauseous. She planned to read the journal as soon as possible.</p><p>“Oh? Good, I hope he wrote down evidence against himself.” King Basil opened the journal and felt the pages. He sighed, wishing he could read it. He closed it and tossed it behind himself, knowing Poppy was right there.</p><p>Mama Goldie blinked when King Basil tossed the journal. She snorted when it hit Poppy in the head. “Nice shot…”</p><p>Poppy startled and scrambled to get a hold of the journal. She got a hold of it before it hit the ground. “Basil…” She rubbed her head and headed for the kitchen. “That hurt my head…” She teared up, thinking he was mad at her still.</p><p>Basil frowned when he sensed she was upset. He followed her. “Aww…I’m sorry Poppy. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He hugged her and checked her head for a welt.</p><p>Mama Goldie followed them in. She put Basil’s hand where she saw a red mark. She felt bad for snorting a giggle. She didn’t want Poppy hurt either. “You both look exhausted. Do I need to find you a babysitter?”</p><p>“No, Mama, I’m alright. I think I’m pregnant and feel a little emotional. Been through this before.” Poppy sat the journal down and snuggled with Basil for a moment, before turning and opening the journal. She began to read it. “Basil? Can you make me mint tea and get me some crackers, please?”</p><p>“Anything for my queen.” Basil got to work on making her tea and crackers. He felt bad for hitting her head.</p><p>Mama Goldie nodded and smiled softly. She checked Poppy’s belly. “You’re expecting. I’ll get you some medicine to help with the nausea. Take it easy mama. Tell me if you two need anything.” She left to get medicine and check on her patients. She was getting tired too, but she was going to do what she needed to do to make sure everyone was taken care of, before she went home to get some sleep.</p><p>Poppy gave Mama Goldie a brief nod and continued to read through the journal. Once her tea and crackers were served, she nibbled on the crackers and took a sip of tea. She stopped when she found a paragraph that she didn’t like. Her eyes went wide. “Oh my god…” She looked up at Basil. “He appears to have killed unborn trollings.” She turned to the journal and teared up as she read a paragraph from the journal. “Sapphire told me today, that she wanted to have children, but hasn’t been able to have any so far. I refuse to tell her that the prenatal vitamins I gave her to help her system support a baby are actually contraceptives.”</p><p>Basil’s fist clenched. “He’s the reason Sapphire hasn’t had a baby?!” He turned to go but was stopped by Poppy. “Let me go! He had no right!”</p><p>“Hold on Basil, I’m not done.” Tears ran down Poppy’s cheeks. She knew how badly Rhapsody and Sapphire wanted a baby, but it wasn’t evidence for execution. She skipped a few entries, and then began to read another. “Today, Poppy was in for a pregnancy check-up. She was nauseous from severe morning sickness. This was her fourth pregnancy, and I been trying to prevent another child being born blind, since I found out Sage was born blind, like his father. I gave her a dose of valerian, via injection. She miscarried a few hours later. That baby would have had disabilities anyway. Poppy had been sick, the whole pregnancy, and wasn’t getting enough nutrients.” That struck a nerve for Poppy. She closed the journal and headed out the door. She hurried straight for the medical pod. She was livid. She went into the medical pod and stormed over to Olive. “Murderer!” She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of his bed. She headed outside. “Olive Herb, I sentence you to death by hanging, for the murder of Princess Angel.”</p><p>Basil was right on her heels. He growled angrily at Olive as Poppy led him towards a bush. “He should suffer for what he did! He killed our baby!” He was livid. Poppy’s pregnancy with Angel had been rough, and they had lost her when she was four months along. He was beyond livid. “Dead troll walking! We have a dead troll walking here!” He shouted angrily.</p><p>“So?! Once less disabled child in this world! Not the only one I killed either! She wouldn’t have survived that severe morning sickness anyway! You can all go to fucking hell!” Olive hissed angrily. He was too weak to resist and was very sore from the beating he received the night before. “I tried to get Ukulele to help me get rid of them all, but she didn’t want to, so I beat the shit out of her and raped her! She deserved it!”</p><p>Parsnip and a couple of scouts followed the angry royal couple outside. They were shocked at the sudden change, but Olive’s confessions only confirmed that the old doctor had lost his mind. Parsnip wrinkled his nose and sneered. “You lied to me?!” He felt betrayed. He looked at Poppy. “I’ll go get the rope.” He left to get them a sturdy rope. He was angry that his father had betrayed him and his kingdom.</p><p>Poppy got to a bush and pushed Olive to the ground. She sat on him and dug her hand into his amputation site. She was livid and wanted him to suffer, but she knew beating him to death wasn’t the right way to kill him.</p><p>“He’s so dead!” Basil paced and cursed angrily. He looked over when Olive screamed in pain. He was glad someone just caused him pain, because he wanted to. He didn’t want to make Poppy more upset at him.</p><p>Olive had tears in his eyes. “I killed my wife too! She was a huge burden! You all have no idea what it’s like to watch the person you love suffer to death!” He knew he was dead and felt no shame in admitting to his crimes now.</p><p>Parsnip heard that as he returned. “You killed mom?!” He tied the rope around his father’s neck. He helped set up the execution. He was hurt and angry. “How could you?!” He had tears in his eyes. He was in shock.</p><p>Once Olive was set up, Poppy forced Olive off the branch he was tied to. She looked away when Olive’s neck broke. She startled when Basil hugged into her. She turned to him and snuggled into his chest. “He killed our baby…” She sobbed. She was very upset.</p><p>“I’m so sorry my queen. He’s not going to hurt anyone else ever again…” Basil held her and cried with her.</p><p>Once Olive was dead, Parsnip removed him from the branch, and carried him away. He sat him down far from the colony and got to work on burying him, so he wouldn’t attract predators. The dragons were not going to be back for a couple more weeks, so they were vulnerable to attack. Once he was done burying his own father, he headed home. He was lost for words. His father had turned the colony upside down and he had been blinded to it. He wasn’t sure what to do to help fix it, but at least now Olive would never hurt another living soul, ever again.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Sisterly Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Rainbow wakes up from her coma.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few days later, Basil headed for the medical pod to check on Rainbow. A lot had happened the last three days, but he always found time to check on his little princess. She had been in a coma this entire time. Pumpkin was also still in a coma. Both families feared that Olive gave the trollings something lethal, considering he had had an unsheathing hatred for what he considered the disabled. So far both little ones were proving that they were not going to give up without a fight. He was almost there when he suddenly felt two new presences in the colony. He turned around and headed that way. He wasn’t too worried about the presences, since they felt like they were the spirits of children. He went into a bush and walked over to the two young trollings and knelt to their level. “Where did you come from?”</p><p>The older of the two children was ten. He vaguely remembered Basil, since he came from the same colony and was closely related to Bask. The young boy’s name was Crescent. He looked at him with wide, worried orange eyes. “Mama told me to run here, right before our dad killed her.” He had his little sister in his arms. Both were yellow. The boy had orange hair, and the girl had light yellow hair. Both had orange eyes, were malnourished, and small for their ages.</p><p>The five-year-old girl, named Moon, had a gash on her forehead and a broken leg. She was trembling in fear. She wasn’t sure if they could trust Basil.</p><p>Basil’s eyes went wide. “Come on young one, let’s get you and your sibling taken care of.” He could sense that they were petrified. He recognized the boy’s spiritual presence. He began to lead them towards the medical pod to be checked over. “Is your name Crescent?”</p><p>“Yes sir…” Crescent followed him warily. He felt a little better knowing that this troll seemed to know him too. He widened his eyes when he saw Poppy hurrying over to investigate. He hid behind Basil and swallowed hard.</p><p>“Oh my god, she’s hurt!” Poppy came over and scooped Moon into her arms. She hurried her towards the medical pod. She looked very worried about the tiny girl.</p><p>Moon screamed and began to wail. She was in a lot of pain and didn’t want to be away from her brother.</p><p>Basil frowned and hurried after her. He felt bad for not noticing just how badly the little one was hurt. He could sense that she was scared, but hadn’t picked up on the pain, until Poppy picked her up.</p><p>Crescent followed them and frowned. “Please don’t kill her!” He was very worried about his little sister.</p><p>Poppy sat Moon down on a medical pod bed and watched as the medical staff began working on the injured trolling. She looked worried as she turned to Crescent. “No one is getting killed kiddo. Where are your parents?” She didn’t like how thin they were. They were also dirty and appeared to have been recently beaten or attacked.</p><p>“Dad is at home. Mama just died. He killed her.” Crescent startled when he was led over to a bed. They began checking him over to injuries. He trembled as they checked him over. He was bruised but had suffered no broken bones.</p><p>“They’re Bask’s family. His nephew and niece. I babysat Crescent a lot when he was little.” Basil was silently fuming. He didn’t like Crescent and Moon’s dad, but he was never able to convince Bask’s sister, Dawn, to leave the colony whenever they talked about leaving. He was glad she had told her son to run here, when things got too dangerous for the little ones. He was sad to hear that she had died.</p><p>Poppy looked between the two children, and then at Basil. “They’re family. We take care of family, don’t we, sweetheart?” She took Moon’s hand and held it as the medical trolls waited for her sedatives to kick in. She was in too much pain to help her leg right now, besides it needed surgical fixing. They wanted her sleepy.</p><p>Moon held Poppy’s hand and looked up at her with worried orange eyes. “I want mama…”</p><p>Crescent teared up and began to cry. He wanted his mama too, but he knew she was gone. He didn’t have the heart to tell his little sister that mama wasn’t going to be with them anymore.</p><p>Basil gave Crescent a gentle hug. “You’re home now. It’s alright Crescent. I’m sorry I didn’t come get you sooner. I didn’t know it was getting this bad.” He was starting to think it was time to go rescue the rest of the trolls that were willing to come there and live a more peaceful life. He was afraid there were more over there that were suffering, like Dawn and her children clearly had.</p><p>Once Moon was out cold, the medical trolls carried her back to preform surgery on her leg and face. Poppy followed them back there. Even though Moon was out, she didn’t want to leave the trolling. She looked so frail.</p><p>“Daddy?” Rainbow called her father. She had just awakened. She looked around with sleepy orange and blue eyes.</p><p>Basil glanced up and then hurried over to Rainbow. “Oh my god, thank god you’re alright…” He picked her up and held her to him with a huge smile on his face. “You have cousins that found us here.” He carried her over to Crescent. “Crescent, this is your cousin, Rainbow.”</p><p>Crescent sniffled and looked at Rainbow. “She’s got the family orange eye.” He reached over and took her hand. “Nice to meet you Rainbow.”</p><p>Rainbow smiled at Crescent but was too weak to hold his hand. “Before I woke up, I told auntie Dawn to send them here. She did a good job daddy.”</p><p>Basil smiled softly and played with his daughter’s hair. “Did you send them here? You’re a good girl Rainbow.” He was so glad she was awake. It was even better that she was talking. He had been warned she might not talk or walk ever again, due to possible brain damage from going without oxygen for too long.</p><p>Crescent looked confused but didn’t question it. He closed his eyes and groaned. He was so tired and sore. He began to doze off, due to exhaustion.</p><p>Rainbow closed her eyes and smiled. “We were very busy daddy. Pumpkin and I had to go into the spirit realm for a little while.” She put her tiny hand on his belly. “I’m sorry for scaring you daddy. I had to save my sisters.” She yawned and snuggled close. “Then I had to go visit family in dreams, and say hi to grandma, aunties, uncles, cousins, and everyone else I wanted to hug. I got to hug them while there.” She took a deep breath. “It was hard but I was able to save my sissies.”</p><p>“You saved your sisters?” Basil inquired with a confused look on his face. He wondered what she meant. She was only six, and was just as imaginative as her brother, Dill.</p><p>Rainbow nodded and rubbed his belly weakly. “Two sissies went into your tummy, and one went into mama Poppy’s belly.” She sighed tired. “It was hard work.”</p><p>Basil chuckled and held her close. “Yes sweetheart, I’m having twins, and mama Poppy is having a baby.”</p><p>Rainbow giggled softly. “No daddy, you’re having four babies, and mama is having two.”</p><p>Basil looked confused but dropped it for now. That prospect seemed impossible. As far as he knew, Poppy only had one baby inside of her, earlier that morning. “I love you, my sweet girl.” He hoped that she would continue to improve. She had really scared him.</p><p>Not far from them, Pumpkin had also awakened. He was being held by Smidge and was cuddling. He was weak but was going to be just fine.</p><p>Smidge had her son snuggled close. She was so glad that he was awake. He had scared her so much. She hoped that Pumpkin and Rainbow would continue to improve. She didn’t want to think of what could have happened if they had lost them both.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. A Determined King</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Basil goes on a rescue mission, despite warnings that it might be too dangerous for him to go.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After making sure Crescent, Moon, and Rainbow were alright, Basil went to head out the door. He was stopped by Stream, who looked very confused. “I’ve got to leave Stream. I’ll be back later.” He just received news about Moon that had him hot and livid.</p><p>Stream smiled softly. He could see that he was angry. “Are you aware you’re pregnant with quadruplets?” He knew he had fathered that batch of trollings, but he wondered how Basil suddenly had two more then he had the day before.</p><p>“That’s what Rainbow told me. I’ll explain later.” Basil smiled softly. He gave Stream a hug and gave his belly a gentle rub. “You three babies behave for daddy. I’ll be back soon.” He hurried off. He was a troll on a mission.</p><p>“Rainbow...?” Stream glanced over at the sleeping six-year-old. He wondered what she had to do with the quadruplets. He looked at Basil and watched him go. He wondered why he was in a hurry but decided not to follow. He was too nauseous. He snuggled up with Pumpkin. Rainbow and Pumpkin needed to stay in the medical pod for at least a few more days, to make sure they were alright. Ukulele was in the bed next to Stream, Smidge, and Pumpkin. She was also doing better but needed a few days to recover from her surgery.</p><p>Basil hurried home and began going through his things. He had weapons, armor, a helmet, and a shield, just in case a war ever met his land. He began putting the armor and helmet on. He was aware of his pregnancy and didn’t want the babies to be hurt. He picked up a sword and shield. He headed out the door, without telling Poppy a word. He didn’t want her to follow or stop him.</p><p>Poppy saw Basil leave. She stopped what she was doing and began to follow. His attire worried her. “Where are you going, dressed like that?!”</p><p>“I have a trolling to save. Stay here!” Basil shouted as he ran as fast as his feet would allow. He didn’t want anyone to follow.</p><p>Poppy’s eyes were wide as saucers. Basil was headed right for his old colony. She hurried for the bunker, knowing it wasn’t safe for her unborn pod to follow. She pounded on the door and sobbed. “Branch! Branch! Branch, are you in there?!”</p><p>Branch hurried for the door and answered it. “What’s wrong Poppy?!”</p><p>“Basil just headed for your old colony, covered in armor! You’ve got to go save him!” Poppy was shaking. She didn’t want to lose her king.</p><p>“Oh my god…” Branch looked towards the kitchen. “Sky! Basil’s going home! I’m going after him!” He scrambled for his sword, and then hurried out the door. “I’m going to rescue him, and then kill him! This is suicide!” He wasn’t going to let his brother do this alone.</p><p>Sky wasn’t far behind Branch. He grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows.</p><p>It took fifteen minutes for Branch and Sky to catch up with Basil. Branch stopped his little brother and held him firmly. “What the hell are you thinking Basil?! You just found out you’re pregnant! Poppy’s pregnant! You have eight growing babies at home. What the hell?! You know that King Rocket wanted you dead. This is very dangerous!”</p><p>Basil struggled under his brother’s grasp. “Let me go! I’ve got to save Luna and anyone else in the village worth saving! He raped Moon!” He was angry that someone had hurt a baby like that. It wasn’t OK at all. The fact that Crescent and Moon’s sister, Luna, was still with that monster scared him even more. He didn’t want to think of what he was doing to their sister. “I just promised Bask I would save his niece! Now let me go!” He spat angrily, before shoving Branch off and frowning when he realized he got turned around. “Fuck! I’m not going home until I have Luna!” He grabbed Branch by the vest. “You better guide me there or I’m going to beat the shit out of you for turning me around!”</p><p>“We’ll get you there, Basil. Please calm down.” Sky gently tucked Basil’s hand behind his arm and began to hurry towards their old village. “Who are Luna and Moon?” He wanted an explanation. He hadn’t met Moon or Crescent yet. He had no idea who Basil was talking about.</p><p>Branch sighed and trotted in pace with his brothers. He had a feeling they were on their way to save a teenager.</p><p>“Crescent’s little sisters. Moon is a five-year-old and Luna is six. Bask sounded urgent. We have to hurry…” Basil was huffing and puffing. He began dragging Sky. He didn’t like his slower pace. “Walk faster!”</p><p>“Easy Basil. If we do this right, we can get her without risking our lives, or her life. Take a deep breath and try to calm down.” Sky stumbled as Basil dragged him along.</p><p>Branch was fuming angry now too. He didn’t like that a five-year-old was raped. “That bastard is dead. Five?!” He looked at Sky. “We’re killing him. He isn’t hurting another kid again!”</p><p>“Less talking, more running. Let’s go!” Basil had a feeling he was going the right way now. He let Sky go and bolted for his old village. He could hear that his older brothers were right at his heels.</p><p>It took a couple of hours, but they finally made it to the village. Basil slowed his pace and listened to the area around himself. He headed for where Dawn used to live. He found the flower pod and stormed right in. He could sense an adult and child in the flower pod. He headed straight for the adult first. He grabbed a hold of him by the shoulder and pinned him to the wall. “Where the fuck is Luna?!”</p><p>A green glitter troll, with light yellow hair, and green eyes, named Cabbage, got to his feet and sneered when Basil charged in. He had been tending to a bite wound on his leg. “Who the fuck? Basil?! You’re dead!”</p><p>Sky came in after Basil and readied his bow and arrow. He released the arrow, penetrating the older male’s chest, ripping his heart in the process. “It was a foolish decision to rape a child, you monster!”</p><p>Cabbage fell to his knees and collapsed. He died quickly from his injury.</p><p>Branch stayed at the entrance to the flower pod and looked out for danger. It was early afternoon, and their presence was already attracting other villagers. He watched them warily. “We’re saving Luna! Back off!”</p><p>Basil smirked when he sensed the life go out of Cabbage. “Go to hell, you monster!” He felt around with his feet, until he entered a bedroom. He found Luna in a bed. He picked her up and frowned when she let out a sob of pain and fear. “It’s alright sweetheart. Crescent told me about you. I’m here to save you.” He headed out the door with her. He ran towards his home with her.</p><p>Luna was a yellow glitter trolling. She had light yellow hair, and dark green eyes. She held onto Basil with her right arm. Her left arm was badly broken.</p><p>Sky followed Basil outside. Once out, he looked among the villagers. “We’re here to save Luna. If you want to live a peaceful life, follow us.” He hurried after Basil. He was worried about Luna. She was sobbing in pain.</p><p>Branch followed his brothers. He kept glancing back and swallowed hard when a few of the trolls followed after them. He couldn’t see if they were angry or not. He didn’t want any of them killed.</p><p>It took a couple of hours for Basil to return home. He got Luna to the medical pod and gently sat her down on a bed. He felt like his legs might cave in. They were on fire. He was exhausted from running for miles in the summer heat. He took a few steps back, before collapsing and passing out.</p><p>Mama Goldie was in by the time Basil got back. She got to work on stabilizing Luna and Basil. It was clear that Luna was injured, and it appeared that Basil had heat exhaustion.</p><p>It was another two hours later that Branch and Sky returned. They had slowed down, after losing sight of Basil. They had talked to the four trolls that had followed them and had discovered that they had wanted to leave the colony for years but weren’t sure where to go that was safe. Branch invited them to spend the night at his bunker. He remembered all four of them from the past, so he trusted them. He was going to help sort out living arrangements for the new trolls in the morning.</p><p>Sky headed for the medical pod, to make sure Basil and Luna made it there safely. When he saw that they were there, he headed home to be with his family. He was glad that that rescue mission had been a complete success, but he had a feeling they were very lucky. He hoped that Cabbage’s death wouldn’t start a war. They were planning to move, as soon as the dragons returned. He hoped that this wouldn’t delay their move. They needed to get to a better water supply.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. The Hero King</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Basil gets praised and told off for his bold act, that saved the life of a little girl.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took several hours for Basil to cool off. He was set up on intravenous fluids, since he had had heat stroke and was dehydrated. He was in and out of consciousness, as his body recalibrated to the right temperature. When morning rose, he was a lot more aware of his surroundings. He cracked his eyes open and groaned. “Is Luna OK?” He swallowed hard, feeling dizzy, nauseous, and a little confused.</p><p>“Basil? Oh god, you scared me so much!” Poppy hugged into her mate and sniffled. “Luna is going to be OK sweetheart. You did a good job. You saved her life.” She kissed him all over and took his hand. “Mama Goldie told me that Luna may not have survived another night without medical attention.”</p><p>Basil sighed in relief and smiled. “Thank goodness I made it to her in time.” He winced as he stretched out. He was incredibly sore from the marathon that he had just ran and the heat stroke he had endured. “Are Moon and Crescent OK too?”</p><p>“All three of them are snuggled up with each other in the bed next to you daddy. They’re petrified but will be OK with time. Moon has a broken leg and Luna has a broken arm. They’re both still sleepy from surgery.” Poppy ran her hand through his long, two toned hair. She knew that the kids would make physical improvements, but the emotional and mental scars scared her a lot. “I’m so proud of you.”</p><p>Basil put his hand on his belly. “Are my babies OK too?” He knew he got really hot from all that running. He hoped he hadn’t put his unborn babies in danger.</p><p>“It’s too early to be sure. You reached a dangerously high fever from heat stroke. For that one, I’m not happy with you. You might lose all four of them.” Poppy frowned and put her hand on his belly. “Mama Goldie wants you on bedrest, for at least a week to make sure they have a chance to settle. You likely put their tiny systems into shock.”</p><p>“I’m sorry…” Basil frowned and rubbed his belly gently. “I wasn’t trying to put them at risk. I wore the armor to make sure they didn’t get hurt.”</p><p>“That same armor overheated you. Next time, get help, and don’t push yourself.” Poppy kissed him and smiled softly when he teared up. “I understand why you did it, which is why you’re not in deep trouble. You’re only in a little trouble instead.”</p><p>“I’ll rest…” Basil sniffled and rolled onto his side. “I’m so hungry…” At the same time, he felt sick to his stomach, but he remembered that was normal for pregnancy.</p><p>“I figured you would be.” Poppy fished out a lunchbox from her hair and pulled out a peanut butter and honey sandwich. She unwrapped it and offered it to him. “Here you go sweetheart.”</p><p>Basil’s nose was filled with the sweet smell of honey. He sat up and took the sandwich. He began to devour it. “One of my favorites…” The nausea he felt quickly melted away. His body was demanding food.</p><p>“Eat up and rest daddy. You did a good job.” Poppy watched him eat and unwrapped a second sandwich. She knew he would likely eat a second. She had also packed up trail mix and orange juice. She wanted him to eat well. He was going to need the extra calories.</p><p>Outside, a fifth villager from Basil’s old colony made her appearance. She was just now arriving. She looked around warily. She wasn’t sure where to go or who to look for. The twenty-one-year-old maroon colored troll had pink hair and purple colored eyes. She had her hand on her belly. She had had to stop several times because she was heavily pregnant and uncomfortable. She also had to wait for her husband to fall asleep. She knew he wouldn’t let her leave.</p><p>Branch was just leaving the bunker with the other four new villagers. He already knew all four of them, from before, and was happy to help them out. He spotted the young female and walked towards her. “Cherry! I was hoping you would follow. I was worried you wouldn’t come.” He remembered when she used to come over and play with his sisters. He was so glad to see her.</p><p>Cherry glared at him and huffed. “All of you ran off before I could follow. I should rip you a new one. Especially you Branch.” She grabbed him by the vest. “I’m too pregnant to run like that!”</p><p>Ice walked over to her and smiled. The twenty-year-old albino glitter troll had baby blue eyes, that were visually impaired due to the lack of pigment to protect them. “You came! I was worried that Bruno wouldn’t let you.” He gave her a hug and chuckled when she started to shove him away. “Feisty mama…”</p><p>“I’m sorry Cherry. I wanted to go back, but Ice was worried that we would be killed.” Mercy was right beside Ice. She was his wife. The eighteen-year-old light turquoise troll had black hair and scarlet colored eyes. She was very nervous.</p><p>“Glad you could make it Cherry.” Peridot was a blue and green rainbow glitter troll, with blue and green heterochromia eyes. The eighteen-year-old kept his distance, knowing that Cherry wasn’t a troll to mess with when angry.</p><p>“Bruno is going to be mad.” Indigo looked nervous. The dark violet trolling was sixteen years old. He had purple and pink two-toned hair and light purple eyes. Bruno was his older brother, and he knew that he would be on a war path to come after Cherry. “You put us in danger by coming here.”</p><p>“Easy, all five of you. You’re safe here, and if anyone comes here to cause trouble, we’ll take care of it. Let’s work on getting you set up in homes. Cherry? I want you staying with me until after that baby arrives and you have a chance to settle into motherhood. I don’t want you to be a single first-time mother. That’s scary.” Branch led them around and showed them the village. He knew it was going to take a while to get use to the area, and knew they would be leaving soon, but he wanted to make them as comfortable as possible. He knew it wasn’t easy, living at a new place at first, but they were safe now. He hoped that that wouldn’t change.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. A Little Wine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cherry gets the care she needs.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took a couple of days of the new trolls to settle down into their new homes. As planned, Branch had Cherry settle down into his bunker, in one of his guest bedrooms. Cherry slept most of the time since arriving. She was due at any time to have her newborn and was told that she needed to sleep and prepare for the arrival of her baby. </p><p>On the morning of the third day since arriving, Cherry was up early, nesting. She worked hard to make sure that the bunker was clean for the newborn baby. She glared at Branch when he walked over and took her washcloth. “I’m not done!”</p><p>“You’re suppose to be resting.” Branch smiled at her and led her over to his recliner. “I’ll clean my bunker for you.” He put a blanket over Cherry when she settled into his chair. He remembered DJ Suki and Harmony being this insistent on cleaning when they were expecting, so this wasn’t a surprise to him.</p><p>Cherry put her feet back and watched Branch clean. She wasn’t used to relaxing like this. Bruno expected her to clean their home and make the meals. She rested her hand on her belly and sighed. “I want to clean. The baby needs it to be clean so he or she doesn’t get sick.”</p><p>“I’m on it Cherry. Relax…” Branch got to work, cleaning his living space first, so she could see him work. The smell of breakfast filled his nose. Sky was cooking breakfast, and it smelled very good.</p><p>Cherry closed her eyes and swallowed hard when she felt a contraction. She ignored it but was suddenly grateful that Branch had taken over. She decided she would lay there and rest. She had a feeling she was going into labor.</p><p>Once breakfast was served, Sky came to get Branch and Cherry. He saw that Cherry appeared to be sleeping, so he left her alone. He decided he would save her a plate of food for when she woke up. He had a feeling she would love a large cinnamon roll. He knew it was one of her favorites.</p><p>Cherry didn’t get up for another four hours. When she did, she headed for the bathroom. She relieved herself, and then walked back to the living space. She leaned into the back of the couch and whimpered during the next contraction. She was getting increasingly uncomfortable.</p><p>Harmony heard that whimper. She got up and walked over to Cherry. “Are you alright?” She put her hand on Cherry’s belly and frowned when she noticed how hard it was. “That feels like a contraction.”</p><p>Cherry nodded slowly. “I’m going to be alright.” She took a deep breath and looked up at Harmony. She wasn’t sure where she was going to have her baby. She was a first-time mother and was very nervous. “I’m in labor.”</p><p>“Let’s get you into your bed. I had both of my babies at home. It’s going to be alright.” Harmony led the nervous mother towards her bedroom.</p><p>Cherry walked towards her bedroom. She stopped halfway there and leaned on the wall. She couldn’t help but holler in pain during this next contraction. She startled when Branch came over to them to investigate. She glared at him. She didn’t want to be touched. “Go the fuck away, Branch!”</p><p>“Looks like labor started. I’ll get towels and a baby blanket.” Branch could see that Cherry was sweating. He headed for the bathroom to get some soft towels. He went to the closet next, to grab a baby blanket. He had washed some the day before, since there hadn’t been a newborn baby in the bunker in three years. Olive had assured that Harmony and DJ Suki hadn’t had children too.</p><p>Harmony led Cherry the rest of the way to her bed. She smiled when DJ Suki came in. “Cherry’s having her baby.” She sounded excited. She had been wanting another baby for a couple of years. She hoped Cherry would let her hold the baby.</p><p>“I can hear that.” DJ Suki gently took Cherry’s hand. “Squeeze my hand when it hurts, and don’t forget to breathe.” She was glad that Cherry was letting them help. She was happy that a newborn was going to be around again. She missed holding her babies when they were tiny.</p><p>Cherry gently removed her panties and grasped DJ Suki’s hand during the next contraction. “It hurts so badly!” She bared down and began to push.</p><p>“You were this close to delivery?!” Harmony’s mouth gapped open. “How long where you in labor?!”</p><p>“She apparently was…” DJ Suki calmly moved so she could catch the newborn trolling. She grabbed him as Cherry pushed him out. She put him on Cherry’s chest and smiled. “He looks just like you. He’s so cute!”</p><p>Branch came in, just in time to see his wife catch a newborn baby. He hurried over and began cleaning him up. He smiled when he began crying loudly. “Hello little one.” He ignored the intense glare from Cherry.</p><p>Cherry breathed hard and smiled when her son began crying. She confirmed that he was a boy, and then thought for a moment. “I want to name you Zinfandel.” She sat up and looked up when DJ Suki helped her newborn latch on to get his first meal. “Thank you for helping me. I was in labor for hours, but I was afraid to burden any of you.”</p><p>“You’re not a burden.” Harmony smiled at her and watched the newborn nurse off his mama.</p><p>“I love his name. Branch and I went with a music theme with our kids.” DJ Suki watched Cherry bond with her son.</p><p>“You’re naming him after a type of wine? Was that how he was conceived?” Branch ignored the intense glares from Harmony and DJ Suki, next. He was teasing Cherry gently. He missed joking around with her.</p><p>“I don’t want to talk about his conception. That part of my life is over.” Cherry said sharply and firmly. She glared at Branch for a few minutes, before turning her attention back to her newborn son. “He’s dark red, like the wine. I think it fits.”</p><p>“It’s a pretty name.” DJ Suki smiled at Cherry. She planned to give Branch a telling off, once Zinfandel was taken care of and settled with his mama.</p><p>“Sorry Cherry, I didn’t mean it like that.” Branch wasn’t sure what happened, but it was clear that Cherry had had it rough with Bruno. He dropped it and went to take care of the dirty laundry. He planned to spoil Cherry. He felt that she deserved it, after going through a hard time.</p><p>Life wasn’t going as smoothly in the medical pod. Ukulele and Luna were both having complications with their broken arms. They had both had surgery to remove their broken arms, since the tissue was dying and becoming infected. Basil had Luna in his arms and was sitting next to Stream. He was feeling a lot better but was still on observation. He promised Stream that he would help them. It wasn’t going to be easy for Ukulele to get use to living with one arm, after living seventy years with two. He was worried about Stream’s pregnancy. He also wondered how they were going to deal with the colony, if any of them decided they didn’t like them living together. He was also worried about their move. He hoped Luna and Ukulele would be strong enough to make the journey to their new home.</p><p>Stream wasn’t as concerned, but he had some reservations. He knew time wasn’t on their side. They needed to move and settle into a new home, before the wild foods would be ready for the picking in late summer. He whispered a prayer, asking the spirits to guide them to a safe haven. They all needed it during this time. He wanted everyone safe, and he felt that they had gone through enough turmoil to last them for generations. He hoped that his prayers didn’t fall upon deaf ears. He wanted them all safe.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. A Brave Act</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Branch is left in charge of the colony, while a group of trolls leave on the dragons to find a new home.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the next three weeks, the dragons began their return from mating season. As soon as Copper and Bubbles were back, Poppy and Basil had left to search for a new home. They were grateful that their dragons had returned early, because it gave them an early start on searching for a new home. They where hoping to find one before the last month of summer. They only had a couple of weeks. They had a group of trolls follow them on their own dragons, so that they could get a head start if they found a home. They kept some trolls at home, just in case they didn’t find a home, so they could prepare for the winter there, if necessary. They left Branch and DJ Suki in charge while they were gone, fully trusting that they would take care of the group that was still at the village.</p><p>Branch had a dragon, and she was home very late. When he realized she was home, he came over and greeted her with a few strokes on the head. “There you are Bella. You had me worried.” He noticed a baby tucked by her leg. He chuckled, realizing why she was late home. She had successfully bred and laid an egg. She wasn’t going to leave until her baby hatched and learned how to fly.</p><p>Bella was a red dragon, with white speckles on her face and belly. She had a baby girl beside her, that looked just like Copper. She nuzzled Branch, and then reached back and nudged her baby towards Branch. She made clicking sounds with her tongue. She was very proud.</p><p>“You bred with Copper? I bet Shadow was jealous.” Branch reached down and gave the baby a few strokes. “I think I know someone who would love you.” He backed up and headed for the bunker. Cherry needed a dragon, and he hoped that she would love the newborn baby dragon.</p><p>Bella watched Branch go, and then led her baby towards the main part of the village. She wanted to show her off. She was a proud mama.</p><p>Branch got to the bunker and tried to convince Cherry to leave. After half an hour of convincing, Harmony told Cherry that she would watch Zinfandel, so that she could have a break and stretch her legs. He led her out of the bunker and headed for where he saw Bella last.</p><p>Cherry looked nervous. She wasn’t so sure about the dragons. She was taught at a young age that dragons were dangerous predators. She didn’t want her or her infant to die, so she had declined the invitation. When Branch promised her that she wouldn’t be killed, she left her baby with Harmony, and followed him out the door. “If I die, I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life.”</p><p>“You’re not going to die.” Branch reassured her. He took her hand and led her towards the outskirts of the territory. “Bella? Where did you go girl?”</p><p>“I don’t like this Branch.” Cherry looked around nervously. She didn’t want them alone, facing a mother dragon. It just didn’t sound safe at all.</p><p>Unfortunately, there was danger lurking in the shadows, but it wasn’t the danger that Cherry thought was coming. It was her husband, Bruno. The dark purple glitter troll had red and pink two-toned hair. He had been searching for his pregnant wife. He watched Branch and Cherry as they got closer and closer with angry, dark red eyes. He saw that his wife was notably thinner. He wondered where his baby was. He didn’t like that she was holding hands with another male troll. He came out and stormed towards them. “There you are! Where the hell have you been Cherry?! Run off to be with Branch?!”</p><p>Branch glared at Bruno as he made his quick approach. He got between him and Cherry. “Getting away from your controlling ass! Go away!”</p><p>Cherry was suddenly very nervous. She watched Bruno from behind Branch. She trembled with fear. She knew how violent Bruno could be.</p><p>“I’m married to her! Back the hell off!” Bruno tried to grab Cherry. “Where is our baby?! Did you kill it?!” He looked extremely angry.</p><p>“Of course not! That’s insane!” Branch snapped at Bruno. He pushed Bruno away and sneered. “I said go away!”</p><p>Cherry watched Bruno with wide, worried eyes. She didn’t like when he got angry like this. She startled when she felt his hand touch her arm.</p><p>“Where is my baby?!” Bruno snapped angrily. “Give me my baby!” He punched Branch in the nose. He was pissed, and Branch was in his way.</p><p>Branch held his nose and cringed as blood ran down from his nose. He continued to keep himself between Cherry and Bruno. “Your baby is safe and away from your abusive ass! Get out of here!” He started shoving Bruno away. He was livid.</p><p>Cherry kept behind Branch. She didn’t dare bolt and expose herself. She knew Bruno would hurt her if he got a hold of her. He always was when he was this angry.</p><p>Bruno grabbed a hold of Branch and flipped him onto his belly. He shoved his face into the ground and growled. “You’re asking for an ass whooping!” He proceeded to beat Branch angrily. He showed no mercy.</p><p>Cherry squealed and tried to pull Bruno off of Branch. She screamed when he grabbed her and forced her to the ground next. “Get off me, asshole!” She struggled under his weight and began hitting at him angrily. She yelped when he struck her in the face with his fist.</p><p>Branch threw punches, while Bruno beat him. When Bruno let go, he grabbed a hold of Bruno and shoved him off of Cherry. He then hovered over Cherry protectively. His arm was broken, but he wasn’t going to let Bruno hurt Cherry further.</p><p>“She’s my wife! Get off her!” Bruno tried to pull Branch off of Cherry. He was livid that Branch was hovering over his wife. He got a hold of Branch’s pants and ripped them off. “I’m warning you! Get the fuck off her now, or I’m going to rip your ass in half!”</p><p>Cherry breathed hard and cringed when Bruno threatened Branch. “He’s going to rape you.” She trembled with fear. She knew how Bruno was. He liked being in control and it turned him on when he thought he was winning.</p><p>“At least he won’t rape you.” Branch held Cherry to his chest with his good arm. He wasn’t moving. “Get the fuck out of here Bruno! My wife will kill you, when she finds out what you’ve done!”</p><p>Bruno snorted and rolled his eyes. “I’m not scared of your little wife. You seem so eager to get your ass ripped in half. You give me no choice.” He pulled his penis out, and began raping Branch, as Cherry had predicted.</p><p>Cherry swallowed hard, when she felt Branch move from Bruno’s thrusts. She was petrified but had come up with a plan. She knew Branch carried a knife with him. She was going to have to time it just right, but she knew if she made the right moves, she could get a hold of Bruno with the knife and kill him. She quietly began searching for Branch’s knife case, in his hair.</p><p>Branch closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He was livid at Bruno.</p><p>“Since you insist on claiming her, you’re going to fuck her while I fuck you!” Bruno snapped at Branch. “Now! Or I’ll snap your fucking neck!”</p><p>Cherry whimpered and looked up at Branch with wide eyes. She nodded to him slowly. She wanted them to get out of this alive. She removed her panties and waited for the deed to be done.</p><p>Branch clenched his teeth and growled. He didn’t want to do this, but he wanted to live too. He pushed into Cherry and began thrusting his hips. He was not a happy male and was in a lot of pain.</p><p>Bruno didn’t stop for some time. When he did, he pulled out and pulled Cherry out from under Branch.</p><p>Cherry had had enough time to pull Branch’s knife out of his hair. She pulled Bruno close and began stabbing him angrily.</p><p>Branch got up and grabbed Bruno’s head. He snapped his neck, before he could do anymore damage to Cherry. He backed away and held onto his broken arm. It wasn’t badly broken, but it was causing him a lot of pain. “I’m so sorry Cherry.” He looked so guilty.</p><p>The break didn’t kill Bruno. He growled angrily and watched them. He couldn’t move his body. He was paralyzed.</p><p>“Thank you for protecting me. It’s going to be OK.” Cherry got up and led Branch towards the medical pod. She left Bruno to die a slow and painful death. One she felt he deserved. They were both going to need treatment after all that. She hoped DJ Suki understood what just happened, because they were just trying to protect each other.</p><p>Once at the medical pod, Branch got treatment for his broken arm. Once he was given pain medicine and a sling, he curled up on his side and closed his eyes. He was very sore.</p><p>Cherry was checked over for injuries and asked to stay there for a while to make sure she didn’t have hidden injuries. She was bruised but was going to be OK.</p><p>Parsnip was one of the medical trolls in that day. He went to get DJ Suki, knowing she would want to know what happened. He explained the situation to her, while he led her to the medical pod.</p><p>DJ Suki came in and hurried over to Branch. She saw that he was roughed up, bruised, and missing his pants. She frowned and took his good hand. “Oh god, I’m sorry Branch.” She sat beside him and ran her hand through his short, dark blue hair.</p><p>Branch told her exactly what happened. He looked nervous. He loved DJ Suki, and was afraid she would be angry at him for mating with Cherry. He swallowed hard after he finished telling her what happened. He was ready for an ear full.</p><p>Cherry kept her distance too. She was worried that Branch and DJ Suki would be mad at her.</p><p>“It’s going to be alright. I’m glad you’re both alive.” DJ Suki crawled into bed with Branch and motioned Cherry closer. “We’ll get through this together, as a family.”</p><p>Branch snuggled with his wife and groaned. He was so sore but was glad that DJ Suki wasn’t mad.</p><p>Cherry walked over and sat by Branch’s bed. She closed her eyes and began to pray that everything would work out for them. She was so worried that Branch still hated her for what happened. He didn’t deserve what Bruno just did. She hoped that Basil and Poppy returned soon, so they could get out of there. She wanted to put her past behind her.</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Finding A Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Basil and Poppy find a new home for their colony.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A couple of days later, Basil returned with Guy Diamond. Both were on Copper. He had reluctantly left Poppy at a new home, so that she could start the settling process, with the trolls that had gone with them. Once Copper landed on the ground, he dismounted his pet, and went to a tree to pee. He smirked when he heard Harper gasp. “Like what you see, Harper?” He gave her a cheeky grin.</p><p>Harper blushed and looked away.  “Nice to see you too, King Basil.” He had parked right next to her. She had been foraging potatoes. She moved out of his way, since he had clearly needed to go badly.</p><p>Guy Diamond got off Copper and stretched his legs. “He’s been complaining for the last half an hour that his bladder might explode.” He looked around and smiled. “Looks like the colony is still in one piece.”</p><p>“Glad that Branch didn’t let it explode into flames.” Basil finished peeing and pulled his pants up. He stretched out and yawned tiredly. “We found a new home.”</p><p>“Yeah, it’s still in one piece, thanks to Branch. He was attacked two days ago, and so was Cherry. They’re lucky to be alive.” Harper looked worried. She had heard that Branch was hurt, but she never heard just how bad it was. “I just saw Branch leave with DJ Suki to go home. He had a cast on his arm.” She looked relieved at the news of a new home. “We should get ready to move.” She carried the bag of potatoes towards her home.</p><p>Guy Diamond frowned and looked at Basil. “Let’s go check on Branch. Sounds like he had it rough.” He headed towards the bunker.</p><p>Basil frowned and hurried after Guy Diamond. He didn’t like that Branch and Cherry got hurt. He hoped little Zinfandel was OK too. He got into the bunker and made his way towards Branch’s spiritual presence. “Branch?! What happened?! Is the baby OK?!” He found his brother, curled up in his bed, surrounded by worried trollings.</p><p>“Zinfandel is alright.” Branch looked up when Basil came in. He frowned and looked away. “I protected Cherry from Bruno, and got my ass kicked. He broke my arm and…” He shuddered at the memory. He didn’t want to tell Basil exactly what happened. Not with several young trollings beside him. “I didn’t do a good job at protecting everyone. Cherry got hurt and I got hurt. I’m sorry Basil. DJ made sure Bruno died. He won’t hurt anyone else, ever again.”</p><p>Guy Diamond frowned and went to talk to Sky and help them pack. It looked and sounded like Branch had had a bad week. They were going to need help.</p><p>“Oh Branch, you didn’t have to take it so hard.” Basil sat by him and gently took Oleander into his arms. He had missed his children. He was glad that they were protecting their uncle Branch.</p><p>Branch glared at his brother. His word choices were not great, and he was not happy with him. He rolled over onto his side and winced from the pain in his right arm. “Fuck you Basil. Go away…”</p><p>Basil realized then, that there was more to what happened then he thought. He could tell something was really bothering Branch. He also realized he had worded that poorly. “I didn’t mean it like that Branch. You don’t need to beat yourself up, is what I meant. You did a great job taking care of the colony, just as I asked.” He reached over and rubbed Branch’s back soothingly. “We found a new home. Are you strong enough to make the journey there?” He looked deeply concerned.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m strong enough to go.” Branch grumbled angrily. He got up and stiffly walked towards the kitchen. “DJ? Basil and Poppy found a home. We’ve got to pack and get the kids ready.” He began pulling out boxes, that he had prepared just in case. He got to work on filling a box full of food.</p><p>“Alright…” DJ Suki helped him get ready to go. She knew it would take a day or two for them to get packed up.</p><p>Basil listened to his brother go, and then crawled into the bed and snuggled with the kids. His children, Branch’s children, and Moon had all been in there. He was glad that they all appeared to be OK. “How are Crescent and Luna?”</p><p>“They’re doing better daddy.” Dill snuggled right into his chest. “Uncle Branch has been very sad. He won’t tell me who hurt him. I want to beat him up.”</p><p>“I’m sure you do, buddy, but I need you safe. You’re a little too young to beat anyone up yet.” Basil chuckled and ran his hand through his son’s orange hair. “Were you good for uncle Branch?”</p><p>“I’m not too young to beat them up…” Dill nodded at father’s question and smiled. “I painted a picture just for him. On the bunker wall.”</p><p>“I helped!” Oleander smirked. He had fun helping his older brother paint.</p><p>“I got the paint.” Rainbow giggled and snuggled closer. “We had lots of fun with them.”</p><p>“Good job little ones. Are you ready to go to a new home?” Basil sat up and stretched. He knew they had a lot to do, and he didn’t want to fall asleep yet. He was getting sleepy and was about to fall asleep on Branch’s bed.</p><p>“Yes!” Brier got up and jumped into Basil’s arms. He giggled and squealed when Basil swung him around. “Wee!”</p><p>“Alright, let’s go help get ready to go.” Basil sat Brier down, and then headed for the kitchen to help Branch. They had a lot to do, and he wanted them to get to the new home as soon as possible.</p><p>It took a couple of days, but once they were all packed up, Guy Diamond began leading the colony, by foot, towards their new home. He knew it was going to take longer to get there by foot, but he knew there were not enough dragons to get all their supplies and colony members there safely. He also knew Basil would appreciate knowing how to get back and forth by foot, just in case. He was more then happy to help his king.</p><p>Basil walked with his family and listened for danger. He knew Copper would protect them all, but the walk did make him nervous. He hoped that they would all make it back to Poppy alive. He was very protective of them all.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. A Long Journey Gets Interrupted</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The trolls try to travel towards their new home.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Later that evening, Basil came up beside Branch. They were looking for a place to settle for the night, but he wanted to make sure Branch was alright. Branch hadn’t said a word to him since he asked him if he would be strong enough to walk to their new home. He was worried that his brother was angry at him. He certainly didn’t mean to upset him. He reached over to Branch and took his arm, like he often did when he needed to be guided.</p><p>Branch was incredibly sore and had been ready to stop for a break, hours earlier, but hadn’t said anything, because he was trying to stay strong for his family. He yelped when his brother touched him. He was so sore. He removed his brother’s hand and tucked it into Sky’s arm instead. He didn’t want to guide Basil at that moment. He was a hurting unit. He headed over to DJ Suki and whispered that he wanted to stop. He was in a lot of pain but didn’t want to admit it to his brother.</p><p>DJ Suki gave Branch a pain pill and something to drink. She looked worried. “Basil? Can we stop for the night? Branch is in a lot of pain.”</p><p>Basil felt bad for touching Branch. He hadn’t meant to hurt him. “Yeah, we can stop for the night.” He gave Sky a hug, and then walked over to Branch again. “Is there anything I can do for you Branch? I’m sorry you’re in pain.”</p><p>“Don’t touch me right now Basil.” Branch grumbled softly and shot a glare at his wife for telling Basil that he was in a lot of pain. He laid down on a soft piece of moss and winced when Symphony and Melody snuggled up to him. He really wanted to be left alone, but he wasn’t going to shoo his young daughters away. They wouldn’t understand.</p><p>“Give him time Basil…” Sky rubbed Basil’s back. He didn’t even know what exactly happened. Only a few trolls knew that Branch had been raped.</p><p>Basil sighed softly and frowned. “I’m sorry for causing you pain Branch.” He walked to a bush and went to settle down. He noticed that his kids came over. “Go play with your cousins, kids. Daddy needs a few minutes of alone time.” He didn’t like that Branch seemed mad at him. He didn’t want the kids to see him sulk.</p><p>“I love you daddy.” Dill walked over to Basil and gave him a hug, before leading his brothers and sister away from Basil. He could see that his daddy was upset, and although he wanted to comfort him, he knew his daddy wouldn’t like it if they disobeyed. Especially with the aura he was expressing at that moment.</p><p>Basil gave Dill a hug, and then listened to his kids walk away. He laid down on his side and put his hand on his belly. He was just shy of three months pregnant and was starting to get a bit of a belly. So far, none of the trolls in the village seemed to care that Stream had mated with him, and he had mated with Stream. He was grateful, because he didn’t want to go through the same thing he had went through, when he had lost Bask. He smiled, feeling a very faint flutter in his belly. “Hello sweet baby. Are you awake?” He gently brushed where he felt the kick.</p><p>“Are you alright Basil?” Stream walked into the bush and sat down beside him. He looked worried for his king.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m alright.” Basil sat up and smiled at Stream. He was worried about Branch, but he didn’t want to stress Stream out. He knew he had been stressed out. He didn’t want him stressing more.</p><p>“You’re a horrible liar.” Stream smiled softly. He reached over and placed his hand on Basil’s belly. “Branch was hurt badly, Basil. Give him a week or two. It’s going to be alright.” He beamed when he felt a light kick. He was a proud daddy and couldn’t wait for the babies to arrive. He planned to help raise Basil’s quadruplets. He hoped that his own triplets would get to spend time with their daddy too.</p><p>“I often forget that you can see spirits too.” Basil sighed and rested his hand on Stream’s belly. “I miss Poppy.”</p><p>“I miss her too. I miss Smidge, more. I wonder what they’re doing without us.” Stream chuckled, when he imagined them snuggling in bed. Smidge would have certain cuddled with Poppy, if Poppy allowed it. He knew she loved Poppy almost as much as she loved him.</p><p>“Poppy said she would be getting the new colony ready for winter, but I’m sure that she has given herself some downtime. It’s not easy carrying twins.” Basil rested on his back and smiled when Stream snuggled up beside him. “Maybe some cuddling with Smidge. Smidge claimed she would take good care of Poppy while I was gone.”</p><p>“I’m sure she’s taking good care of her.” Stream chuckled and ran his hand along Basil’s bare chest. Basil had removed his shirt earlier, because he had become hot.</p><p>Basil shivered when Stream touched him like that. He groaned and reached his hand into his shorts. He began rubbing himself. His member was starting to swell.</p><p>“I turn you on, even when we’re sober?” Stream chuckled and began helping Basil out of his shorts.</p><p>“Yes, very much so.” Basil helped Stream out of his pants. He pulled him close and began kissing him hungrily.</p><p>“Mm…” Stream rubbed Basil’s member gently, and kissed him back. He rubbed his own member with his free hand and murmured that he was horny.</p><p>“I can fix that.” Basil turned Stream around, slowly, and then grinded him gently from behind. He then pushed himself into Stream. He began pounding him hard, and rough. He was just as eager to mate as Stream was.</p><p>Stream hollered in surprise and grasped his knees. “Easy Basil! You’re being a little rough!” He let out a loud moan as Basil pounded him. He let out a loud whoop when Basil hit a sweet spot. He really needed this.</p><p>Basil growled playfully and held onto Stream’s hair. He needed this just as much as Stream did.</p><p>The whole colony avoided the bush for the rest of the night. They didn’t know what to make of all that noise from the king and his companion, but they knew Poppy wasn’t going to be happy about this.  A majority of them were still unsure about the concept of having multiple mates.</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Family Drama</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Branch, Sapphire, and Sky confront Basil, for what he did with Stream.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shortly after sunrise, Basil emerged from the bush he had slept in with Stream. He was immediately grabbed by Sapphire and wrapped up in her hair. He smirked at his younger sister and wriggled his eyebrow. “Feeling frisky this morning, sis?”</p><p>“You kept several of us up all night last night! Shame on you, for cheating on Queen Poppy like that!” Sapphire was livid. She knew how Stream and Basil conceived their babies, but it was one thing, mating to make babies so Stream and Smidge could have a family, and a whole other thing to mate for fun. “What the hell were you thinking?!”</p><p>“I thought it felt very good.” Basil didn’t look at all afraid. He was used to his sister’s temper. It almost matched his own. “Poppy isn’t going to be mad at me for mating with Stream. She might be a little annoyed that she hadn’t joined in the fun, but I’ll make up for it later.”</p><p>Sapphire groaned and glared at her brother. “I didn’t need to know that!” She looked him up and down. “If I find out that you did this, and she doesn’t approve, I’ll rip you to shreds. You’re very lucky you’re pregnant, or I would tear you up right now.”</p><p>“You’re not going to hurt me.” Basil raised a brow and looked towards her. “It was consensual, wanted, and asked for. Poppy isn’t going to be mad at us.”</p><p>“You had us up half the night.” Branch walked over and frowned. “Some of us are very tired and sore Basil. Was that really necessary?” He put his hand on his casted arm. He was very sore and silently hoped that they wouldn’t have to walk that day, but he also knew that they were going to have to keep moving too.</p><p>Sky walked over to them and grabbed Basil by the ear. “I get that you’re king, but you’re getting way too cocky. If you don’t watch it, you’re going to break our hearts and get yourself killed!”</p><p>“Restrain him. We will talk about this further when Poppy gets involved.” Ukulele walked over to them and looked Basil up and down. “I get that you helped my grandson get pregnant, but what you did last night was foolish. I pray for you and Stream, that this was allowed by both Poppy and Smidge. If it’s not, we will have no choice, but to commit a punishment of Poppy’s choosing. I pray that our god will have mercy on your soul.” She wasn’t happy with Stream’s decision making. She hoped that Poppy didn’t decide to kill him.</p><p>Basil glared towards Ukulele. He wasn’t a happy male. He didn’t think he did anything wrong. “You’ll all see. This is not necessary.”</p><p>Stream had heard it all and was leaned on the back part of the bush. He put his face into his hands and cried quietly. He was nervous and worried that the colony would turn against them and kill them. He was worried about Smidge, Pumpkin, Basil, Poppy, and all of Basil and Poppy’s children, even though he doubt that any of them would kill the children. It wasn’t their fault. He startled when he felt Guy Diamond’s hand on his shoulder. “Smidge and Poppy would have allowed it.”</p><p>“It’s going to be alright Stream. It’ll settle when we get home and talk to Poppy and Smidge.” Guy Diamond helped his pregnant brother in law to his feet. He led him towards the group. “Let’s keep moving. We are at least a week away from getting to the new colony. We need to leave well enough alone, and just keep moving on. If we get too comfortable, we’re going to be picked off by predators.”</p><p>“King Basil and Stream should still be restrained. They’ve committed a crime.” Ukulele pointed out. “You’re right though, we do need to move. We don’t want to stay in one place for too long.”</p><p>Basil grumbled angrily and shot a glance towards Sapphire. “Can you ease up your hair? I’m uncomfortable.”</p><p>Sapphire grumbled but did ease up her hair a bit. “Better?”</p><p>“Yeah, it’s better, but I’m going to need to piss soon.” Basil didn’t like that he was restrained. He hoped that whoever had Stream was not being too rough to him either. He could sense that Stream was very upset.</p><p>Branch groaned internally and got ready to leave. He was in so much pain but didn’t want to argue. He knew they were right. They needed to keep moving. He asked for pain relief, from Parsnip, so he would feel better.</p><p>Parsnip gave Branch a painkiller, and then got ready to go as well.</p><p>Once they were all ready to go, the group continued their way towards the new village. An eerie silence came over the group as they walked towards the new village. Basil’s children and Pumpkin were all very confused. They were not sure what their daddies had done wrong.</p><p>Rainbow finally approached Sapphire. She got onto her aunt’s wheelchair and sat on her lap. She looked up at her, with wide, worried eyes. “Why is daddy in trouble?”</p><p>“He did something that is against the rules.” Sapphire continued propelling her chair. She had let Rhapsody take over walking with Basil. It wasn’t easy for her to propel her chair, restrain her bother, and focus on where she was going.</p><p>“Do I need to beat him up?” Rainbow snuggled into Sapphire’s glittery chest. She didn’t like when other trolls were mad.</p><p>“No sweetheart, you don’t need to beat him up.” Sapphire stopped and gave her a hug. “Why don’t you go give uncle Branch a hug? He needs one.”</p><p>“Ok auntie Sapphire.” Rainbow got off Sapphire’s lap, and then ran over to Branch. She gave him a gentle hug.</p><p>Branch smiled softly and gave Rainbow a light hug. “I love you sweet girl.”</p><p>Basil listened as his family interacted but didn’t say anything. He was just glad that Rhapsody was giving him the decency to walk without being wrapped up in hair. He frowned when he suddenly heard the birds in the area quiet down. The hair on the back of his neck raised up. He had a bad feeling there were being stalked by something huge. He froze when Copper let out a deep, angry growl. “Everyone! Run and hide!”</p><p>Chaos quickly followed. All the trolls and trollings scattered and began finding places to hide. A fox like species, that the trolls called kilmori, pounced on Cooper and Fuzzbert. It quickly devoured the two odd trolls. It turned around and went after the trollings next.</p><p>Stream screamed in horror when he saw that the nasty kilmori was going straight for Pumpkin, Sage, and Itea. He hurried after them and led them towards safety as fast as he could. He barely got them hidden, when the fox scooped him up and ate him whole.</p><p>Pumpkin watched his father get swallowed. He let out a sob and went to go after the kilmori, but Itea stopped him. “Daddy!!!”</p><p>“You can’t! You’re going to get killed if you do.” Itea trembled as he held his slightly younger friend close.</p><p>With three trolls in its belly, the kilmori left the rest of them, to pick up the devastation that it left behind.</p><p>Basil’s heart was pounding in his chest, so hard that he thought it might explode. He tried to get a sense of who was still with them, and who was gone. He focused on his children, siblings, nieces, and nephews. He then turned his focus on Stream. He didn’t sense Stream, or their triplets anymore. He began franticly searching for him. Tears filled his eyes. Stream was his best friend, and he was pregnant with three of his babies. “Has anyone seen Stream?!”</p><p>Pumpkin ran over to Basil and clung to him. He was sobbing and wanted to be picked up. “It swallowed daddy!” He was trembling and very upset.</p><p>Everyone began to come out of hiding. With the threat gone, they were safe again. A silence fell upon them. Since the kilmori snatched up Stream, Fuzzbert, and Cooper, six lives were taken, in just the blink of an eye.</p><p>Sky walked over to Basil. He gently picked Pumpkin up and held him close. “Stream was snatched up. I’m very sorry.” He held the sobbing five-year-old close. He couldn’t imagine what was going on in Pumpkin’s mind. He had just seen his father, swallowed alive.</p><p>Basil felt his heart break. He instantly faded gray and put his hand on his belly. “We better go, before it takes anymore innocent lives.” Tears ran down his cheeks as he took the crook of Sky’s arm. He was devastated that they had lost Stream, and three of their babies. He wasn’t sure what he was going to tell Smidge. He hoped that they wouldn’t lose her too. She had been through so much. Losing a mate was going to be almost certainly fatal for the broken-hearted mother.</p><p>The rest of the trolls quietly moved on. All of them were jumpy now. They looked around and were on high alert. They hoped that no more predators came after them. They didn’t want anyone else to die.</p><p>Not long after leaving the group of trolls, the kilmori stopped and let out a soft whine. He licked his belly, feeling a lot of pain there. It let out loud cries, before falling over and yipping in pain. Something was killing it, from in the inside out.</p><p>Stream emerged from the kilmori and took a deep breath. He stumbled out of the predator and put his hand up to his left arm. The kilmori had bitten his arm, before swallowing him. His arm was gone. He had managed to escape, by slicing his way out with his knife. He hurried over to the closest stream of water and began cleaning up. He took a vine and tied his arm stump, so he wouldn’t lose too much blood. He then began heading towards where he could sense the group. He knew if he was going to catch up with them, he was going to have to hurry. He knew he didn’t have a lot of time, if he wasn’t going to bleed to death. He didn’t make it far, before collapsing and passing out. His last thoughts were about his mate and son. He hoped that his effort to leave the kilmori wasn’t in vain. He was determined to survive for his family.</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Determined To Live</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Stream and his triplets express a strong will to live.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Thankfully for Stream, a young female troll, happened to pass by him, in search of a new home, just minutes after his collapse. The soft pink dwarf troll had white hair and baby pink and baby blue eyes. She went by the name Fairy. She was a doctor, which was good news for Stream. She got her medical supplies out of her hair and went to work on cleaning his amputation sight. She glanced around, when she realized what the cause of his injury might be. It looked like he had been bitten, and possibly swallowed nearly whole. She didn’t want a predator to kill them if they were found again. She got him cleaned up, and then stitched his arm closed. She gently wrapped him up in her hair, and moved him to the underside of a mushroom cap. She got him into a comfortable position and placed a cool, wet cloth over his forehead. She noticed he was about three months pregnant. She inspected his belly and was surprised to find triplets. She wondered where his family was. A pregnant troll would have certainly had family nearby. “Come on…please wake up. We need to get you to your family.” She noticed he was pale. She got a needle out and took some of her blood. She gave it to him. She hoped for his sake, that he hadn’t lost too much blood. It wouldn’t be good for him, or his unborn babies.</p><p>It took half an hour for Stream to wake up. He groaned in pain and put his hand onto his head. “I need to find my family. I need to make sure my son is OK…” He was worried that Pumpkin may have gotten eaten.</p><p>“Easy does it. My name is Fairy. I found you passed out and have saved your life. Moving around too much right now, might prove to be fatal for your unborn triplets. You lost a considerable amount of blood.” Fairy looked deeply concerned. She hoped he wouldn’t try to leave right now.</p><p>“Thank you for saving me.” Stream rested his right arm to his side and frowned. “I want to make sure my boy is OK.” He was so worried about Pumpkin. His last memory, before being swallowed by the kilmori, was seeing his son’s look of horror.</p><p>“We can look for him, once you have a chance to rest. Were you with a colony?” Fairy dabbed his forehead lightly with the wet cloth.</p><p>“Yeah, I was with our colony.” Stream shifted and let out a whimper when he felt his belly tighten up. “That doesn’t feel good.” He rested his hand on his slightly swollen belly.</p><p>Fairy placed her hand on his belly. She could feel that his belly was tightening up. “That feels like a contraction. I don’t want you to move at all.” She gave him a gentle inspection and found that he was bleeding light. “You might be miscarrying. If you hold still, your body might stop the contractions, before you lose your triplets.”</p><p>Stream swallowed hard but did as she recommended. He held still and prayed that he wasn’t losing his triplets. He didn’t want to lose anymore babies, and he knew Smidge would be just as devastated as he would be, if they lost the triplets. He whispered a silent prayer for his babies. He hoped they would be alright.</p><p>A few miles away, Pumpkin had demanded he be carried by Basil. He was in his godfather’s arms. He had faded gray, and was watching his surroundings, with his head resting on Basil’s shoulder. He was confused. He hadn’t seen his father’s spirit yet. He finally spoke up. “I don’t see my daddy.”</p><p>Basil gently put Pumpkin down and knelt down. He hadn’t heard Stream’s voice, so he believed the little one. He thought perhaps they hadn’t seen Stream yet, because Stream’s spirit hadn’t approached them yet. “I’m so sorry, Pumpkin. Your daddy might have fallen behind. It’s going to be alright.”</p><p>“We have to go back, and make sure his spirit is OK.” Pumpkin rubbed his eyes and sniffled. “I don’t want him to be behind.”</p><p>“Alright, let’s go back and make sure he’s OK.” Basil walked over to Copper and put Pumpkin onto Copper’s shoulders. He growled when Sky walked over and put his hand on his shoulder. “Leave me alone. I’m going to make sure Stream’s spirit is alright!” He was upset that he didn’t even get to say goodbye, before Stream left this world.</p><p>“You’re not leaving without another adult who can guide you. Copper is smart, but he is as arrogant as you are. I need you safe.” Sky got onto Copper, and helped Basil get onto him as well.</p><p>Pumpkin turned around and snuggled into Sky’s belly. He was glad that Sky was coming with them. He was feeling very clingy.</p><p>“Fine…” Basil hugged into Sky and closed his eyes. He was stressed out and fighting back tears. “Guy? I leave you in charge, until we get back.” He put his hand on Copper’s shoulder. “Fly to where Stream died.”</p><p>Copper took flight. He seemed to understand what Basil wanted. He headed back to where they had last seen Stream. He didn’t stop until he picked up on the scent of Stream’s blood. He landed by a pool of Stream’s blood. He sniffed at the blood and let out a soft whimper.</p><p>The smell of blood filled Basil’s nose. He gasped when he realized he could sense Stream’s spiritual presence again. He scrambled off of Copper and stumbled towards the mushroom that Fairy had hidden Stream under. He found his companion there. He began checking him over and winced when he realized that he had lost his arm. “How on earth did you survive?!”</p><p>Pumpkin wasn’t far behind Basil. He was about to barrel into his father, when he saw that he was injured. He burst into tears and cried. “Are you OK daddy?!”</p><p>Stream startled when Basil suddenly appeared. He winced when his arm got touched. “I used my knife to slice open the kilmori.” He smiled at his son and reached his hand out towards him. “Daddy is going to be OK son. This nice lady saved my life.” He held Pumpkin close as the little one cuddled with him. He looked up at Fairy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”</p><p>“My name is Dr. Fairy Pixie-Dust. You can call me Fairy. I wouldn’t have let you die.” She was putting ointment on Stream’s skin. He had mild burns on his skin, from the stomach acid of the kilmori. “He has had irregular contractions. He can’t move until they stop, or he miscarries.”</p><p>Basil frowned and looked up when he heard his brother walk over. “Sky, I need you to go back and tell Guy to keep going. I’ll need you to come back after you tell him. After Stream is stable, we’re going to get him home. He needs to be with Smidge.”</p><p>“Of course…” Sky left to take Copper to Guy Diamond and relay the message. He hoped Stream would be alright. The crime Basil and Stream had committed was forgotten, for now. It had become clear to him earlier that day that Basil had somehow become bonded with Stream, and his loss has spiraled Basil back to how he was when he had lost Bask. It had him very worried and so confused. It was unheard of for a troll to love bond with more then one living troll. Basil seemed to be an exception to this rule.</p><p>Pumpkin snuggled into his father and sniffled. He was glad that his daddy was OK. He was so scared that he had lost his daddy forever.</p><p>Stream closed his eyes and held his son close. He was so glad that his son was alright and hadn’t been eaten too. He knew it was going to be a challenge to keep the triplets alive, but he was more then willing to fight for them too. They seemed to not want to give up. He could feel them moving inside of him. He hoped for their sake that it was enough.</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Celebrating A Hero</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Fairy is praised for saving Stream’s life.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It didn’t take long for Sky to come back and forth between Basil and the colony. Once everything was settled, he sat down by Stream and held his hand. Branch had come with him this time around and was resting beside Stream. He had managed to talk Sky into helping him to the new colony too. He was in pain and wasn’t sure he could handle going any further without collapsing himself. Basil was settled down beside them. He had his hand on his belly. He could feel his babies move. He let an occasional tear fall as he thought of what could have happened. He was so glad that Fairy had found and saved Stream. This day could have been so much worse. He began to sing, letting his God know he knew he was good. Pumpkin was still clung to Stream and had dozed off. The powerful spirit trolling had willed his siblings to stay. He had exhausted himself into a deep sleep.</p><p>It took several hours for Stream to fill better. He had dozed off, embraced by his son and companion. He woke up before the sun began to set. He frowned, feeling a powerful urge to pee. “I haven’t had a contraction in a while. Am I alright to get up and go pee?”</p><p>“Hold on Stream. I’ll help you.” Fairy walked over and helped him with a cup. “Go ahead and pee into that. I don’t want you moving quite yet. I want you to rest until morning, just to be safe.”</p><p>Stream released his bladder and sighed in relief as he began to fill the cup up with his urine. He looked up when he heard Basil heaving nearby. “Is Basil alright?”</p><p>“I think stress caught up with him. He’s getting sick.” Branch was watching his pregnant brother from under the mushroom. He didn’t see any mint, and they hadn’t packed any. It was too late at night to go hunting for mint leaves. Basil was going to have to hold on until morning.</p><p>Basil finished getting sick, and then went back over to group. He laid down beside Stream and swallowed hard. His stomach was turning.</p><p>“Relax Basil. It’s going to be alright.” Stream reassured his worried companion. He shifted onto his side and moved Pumpkin, so he was snuggled between them. He closed his eyes and sighed tiredly. He was in a lot of pain and had refused anything for pain. He wanted his triplets safe.</p><p>“Get some rest. I’m going to make something to eat.” Fairy got to work on cooking dinner. The twenty-two-year-old had taken a tiny trolling out of her hair and had her sitting next to them. Basil had asked about the toddler hours earlier. She realized she wasn’t going to be able to hide her, and already trusted the group of males anyway. They gave her no reason to hide her baby any longer.</p><p>Pearl was a salmon colored trolling, with red hair and baby pink and red eyes. She moved over to Pumpkin and snuggled up to him. She was two years old and was missing her left arm. She liked Stream already. She was just like him in her eyes.</p><p>Once dinner was ready, Fairy made sure they all ate. She frowned, when she saw that Pumpkin hadn’t awaken. “Is he alright?” She checked his pulse and felt that it was still there.</p><p>“He’s alright. I think he helped keep my babies with us.” Stream held his son up and woke him up just enough to feed him. He couldn’t get much into Pumpkin, before the little one fell asleep again. “Yep, he had to have helped his siblings.” He settled Pumpkin down and snuggled with his boy. He was proud of him.</p><p>“That’s so sweet.” Fairy smiled softly. She helped Pearl settle for bed and laid down. “We should all get some rest. It’s going to be a busy morning.”</p><p>They all agreed and attempted to get some sleep. When morning rose, they got up and got ready to leave. Stream was on his own two feet but wasn’t allowed to help. Fairy had told him he was going to need to be on bedrest for at least a couple of weeks, to assure that the triplets stayed inside of him. He did very little, and wished he could help, despite being in extreme pain.</p><p>Once they were all packed up, the group settled down on Bella and Copper, and had them head towards the new colony. Branch kept glancing back to make sure Bella’s baby was keeping up. He hadn’t been able to convince Cherry to take her yet, but he knew Cherry needed time.</p><p>Once they arrived at the new colony, Stream was helped off of Copper and led towards the new medical pod.</p><p>Poppy saw them right away and hurried over. “What happened?!” She checked Stream over and frowned, seeing that he was badly injured. She led him towards the new medical pod. She hoped that the triplets were alright.</p><p>Smidge hurried over and followed them to the medical pod. She saw that Stream had lost his arm. She was very worried about him.</p><p>Basil wasn’t far behind them. He had Pumpkin in his arms. He settled him down with Stream, and then turned to Poppy and told her what happened. He made sure to include the fact that the colony was mad at them both for mating with each other a couple nights earlier.</p><p>Poppy shot a look at him. “Brat…you owe me.” She put her hand on his belly and smiled. “Were you four good while daddy was gone from mama? Hello sweets…” She smiled and ran her hand along his belly. She looked up and kissed him. She wasn’t mad at him, just like Basil had predicted.</p><p>Stream and Smidge cuddled in a medical bed. Smidge wasn’t mad either. She kept her hand on Stream’s belly. She was glad he survived being eaten. She couldn’t imagine losing him.</p><p>Branch settled down in a chair and sighed tiredly. He was glad that he didn’t have to walk anymore.</p><p>Sky looked relieved to find out that Poppy and Smidge were not mad. He had followed them in with Fairy. He waited until Poppy was done fussing over Basil, before stepping towards her. “This young lady saved Stream’s life. Her name is Dr. Fairy Pixie-Dust. She is a great doctor.”</p><p>Poppy squealed in delight and gave Fairy a hug. “Nice to meet you Fairy! Thank you for saving Stream!” She saw a tiny hand come out of Fairy’s hair. She took the toddler out and hugged her. “Aww she’s so cute! What is your name?!” She was hyper and bouncy, despite finding out that a couple of her friends were eaten. She loved meeting new trolls. She couldn’t hide that tears were in her eyes though. She was going to miss Cooper and Fuzzbert.</p><p>“Pearl…” Pearl snuggled into Poppy. She loved her already.</p><p>“Nice to meet you Queen Poppy.” Fairy did a curtsy and smiled when Pearl snuggled into Queen Poppy. She already felt like she could trust this queen, but she had a few concerns. She wanted her daughter safe.</p><p>“We must recognize you for saving his life. Come, there is so much to do.” Poppy led Fairy out of the medical pod, to show her around and tell everyone that she was a hero.</p><p>After everything settled, Fairy had told Poppy that she could help in the medical pod. Only five hours after arriving, she was already preforming her first shift. She made sure that everyone who was in there was taken care of.</p><p>Stream was still in there, and so was Smidge and Pumpkin. The family was so grateful that they were able to still be together, and it was all thanks to Fairy. Stream was almost certain if she hadn’t been at the right place at the right time, he and his triplets would have been doomed. He felt like he now had a lifetime friend in her. He wasn’t going to have it any other way.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is the song Basil sang. I do not own the song! All credit goes to the creators. :) &lt;3</p><p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drkqqCy8emM</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Diplomacy Escalates</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Queen Poppy and King Basil try to convince the colony to change tradition.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took a couple of weeks for Guy Diamond to lead the rest of the colony, safely to the new village. While on his way to their new home, he found a little trolling, abandoned in a flower. He took in the little trolling and had her tucked in his hair. He estimated by her teeth that she was about a year and a half. She couldn’t give him a name, so he ended up naming her Sparkle Ruby, since Ruby appeared to be her mother’s name.</p><p>Sparkle Ruby was thin and small for her age. She was a little sickly too, from going days without food. She was well fed now, thanks to Guy Diamond. She was a red glitter troll, from head to toe, including her blood red eyes and maroon colored nose. She spent most of the time since being found in her founder’s hair, sleeping. She was content and happy to have a full tummy. She had had a note with her, when she was found.</p><p>“Dearest daughter,</p><p>I’m sorry I must leave you here, but here I hope you stay safe. If you are found by another troll, I hope that they can take care of you, better than I ever was able to. Mama is very sick and was all alone with you. I don’t want you to die with me, so I have no choice but to give you up to the safety of this flower. I hope that if you don’t make it, you at least leave this world, in the comfort of this flower. It was the best cradle I ever used for you when you were tiny. Mama loves my sweet little flower baby.</p><p>With all the love in the world,</p><p>Mama Ruby”</p><p>As they approached the colony, Guy Diamond assured that the colony began to settle down, and then hurried to check on Creek. He hadn’t seen his mate in three weeks. He found him and gave him the longest, wettest kiss that Creek had received from him in a long time.</p><p>Creek enjoyed the lip lock. He didn’t let it go, despite their children complaining about how gross it was. When Guy Diamond finally let go, he chuckled and smiled at him. “I missed you too.” He smiled down at their children. He hadn’t seen them in several weeks and had missed them so much. “Hello my sweet angels.”</p><p>Guy Diamond smiled and snuggled into him. “Three weeks is way too long. I have a little someone I want to inquire you about. I found her in a flower, on the way here.” He pulled the baby out of his hair and offered her to his mate. “Can we keep her? I named her Sparkle Ruby.”</p><p>Creek took Sparkle Ruby into his arms and grinned up at Guy Diamond. “Absolutely! She’s adorable…” He knelt down and snuggled with his children next. “This is your baby sister. We’re keeping her.”</p><p>Sparkle Ruby looked at her siblings and smiled. She liked this idea a lot. She already loved them all.</p><p>Not far from them, Basil reunited with his own children. He checked them over and sighed in relief when he noticed that they were all still alive, and in good health. He owed Harmony, Harper, Cherry, and DJ Suki a lot for taking care of them. He was glad when he found out that there were no more casualties either.</p><p>Ukulele took Poppy aside and talked to her about what happened between Basil and Stream, over two weeks earlier. She wasn’t going to hide anything from her queen, even if it meant that her grandson would be in trouble. She knew Poppy wouldn’t kill him, but she was very disappointed in Stream’s behavior. She felt that he knew better.</p><p>“It’s alright Ukulele. I approve of it. I actually want Stream and Smidge to join our family.” Poppy smiled softly. “Especially after what happened to Stream two weeks ago. He could have died.”</p><p>“You know that’s against the rules.” Ukulele sighed softly. “I know you’re trying to help him and Smidge, but we must follow tradition. Rules are there for a reason.”</p><p>“That’s for the colony to decide. Once everyone is settled, we’ll discuss this in a colony meeting. For now, I want you to go see him. He’s still in the medical pod, but he is being released today. He lost his arm when he got eaten, and almost lost the triplets, too.” Poppy left to help the rest of the colony settle, and to greet her children. She was so glad to see them, after not seeing them for several weeks.</p><p>Ukulele left to go see Stream. She knew he had been hurt, but she hadn’t heard how badly. She hoped he was alright. She was stingy when it came to rules, but she still loved her grandson very much.</p><p>It was after dinner when everyone gathered around a bonfire. It was nearly nighttime, but between the fire and the dragons, Poppy felt that they were all safe to discuss the possibility of new mates, without predators coming to pick them off. She also felt safer, now that Basil was with her again. He was so protective. Once it appeared everyone was there, Poppy cleared her throat and smiled at them. “Thank you, everyone, for gathering here today, to discuss a complicated topic, that has caught the attention of several trolls for the last three months. As you all know, Basil and Stream have formed a bond with each other. Smidge and I have also formed a bond, along with Stream to I, and Basil to Smidge. I am aware this is very rare, almost unheard of. I have gathered you here, to ask if we can get rid of the rule that only allows one troll to marry another. I want to make it so that multiples can have a family. All in favor for this change, please say I and raise a hand?”</p><p>Several trolls said I and raised their hand. Whispers filled the air. It was more than some of the ones against this expected.</p><p>Poppy tallied down how many. She was amused to find that Branch, Cherry, Sky, and Mama Goldie were among those who had raised a hand. They were not trolls she was expecting to say yes to this. After she got them marked down, she looked up again. “Alright, and all those against it, now say nah and raise your hand.” She frowned, seeing several hands go up, and several trolls saying nah. She tallied them up, and then counted the results. “I have seventy-four trolls for multiples marrying, and one hundred and twenty-four against it.” She looked disappointed, but this was what the colony wanted. “Very well…” She sighed and looked over at Smidge and Stream. “I’m very sorry.”</p><p>Smidge and Stream both looked sad but were going to cope with the results. They had no choice.</p><p>“I demand a recount in one-year time, when we have a chance to settle into our new home. This isn’t over yet.” Basil said firmly. He wasn’t just disappointed. He was livid. “And you all have no business, sticking your noses in other trolls’ businesses. It is not where it belongs. You have no say on what happens behind closed doors, so what happens out of the sight of others, is beyond your control.” He got up and left. He was hormonal, cranky, and livid. He didn’t want to take it out on the wrong trolls.</p><p>“Meeting is adjourned. Thank you all for coming. No punishments will be given at this time.” Poppy left and followed Basil. She knew he was upset, but she knew it wasn’t over. They were just going to have to try another approach. “We’ll get them to change their minds sweetheart. It’s not the end.” She walked with him home. She knew it was going to take time, but she was determined to change their minds. She was just going to have to think of how. She loved Stream and Smidge. She hoped they would one day be able to sleep under the same flower pod, without any questions.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. A Loving Father</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Basil’s family is about to expand dramatically.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>No one discussed anything further about the multiple partnership. Peace remained in the colony for the next two months. The peace was interrupted one evening, when Basil was in the middle of eating dinner. He put the spoon he was using for soup on the table and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and breathed through his mouth. He was having a contraction.</p><p>Poppy walked over to the table with a loaf of bread. She sat it down and frowned when she saw that Basil appeared to be in pain. “Are you alright?”</p><p>“I don’t miss this part of pregnancy.” Basil whispered softly. He got up and waddled for the bathroom. He needed to go pee. He sat on the toilet and groaned in discomfort.</p><p>Poppy sliced the bread, buttered the slices, and gave each of their trollings a slice. She then headed for the bathroom to check on her heavily pregnant mate. “Do we need to get you to the medical pod?”</p><p>“I think so…” Basil finished up and washed his hands. He put his hand on his belly and winced during the next contraction. “I think I’m going into labor.” He didn’t like that they were a few weeks early, but he was also not that surprised, considering he was carrying four. He got out of the bathroom and walked to the bedroom. He covered himself up with a blanket, and then headed for the door.</p><p>“I’ll get the kids to Branch and Sky’s, and then I will be right there, sweetheart.” Poppy gave Basil a quick kiss, and then got the trollings ready to go. She wasn’t moving too fast, considering she was round with a set of twins herself.</p><p>Basil hurried for the medical pod as fast as he could move. He stopped just short of it and held his belly. He breathed through a contraction and frowned when he felt his pants got wet. He groaned and continued on his way. He went into the medical pod and settled down into a bed. “I’m in labor.”</p><p>Fairy was in that evening. She walked over to Basil’s bedside and helped him out of his pants. She gave him a gentle check and then smiled up at him. “You’ve opened up a little bit, but it’s going to be a little while, before they’re ready to come.” She helped him get comfortable, and then got ready to welcome four premature babies. “Where is Poppy?”</p><p>“She had to get the trollings to my brothers.” Basil hugged into a pillow and closed his eyes tightly.</p><p>Stream came in and walked over to Basil’s bedside. He had seen Basil enter the medical pod. He took his hand and held it. “I’m here, Basil.” He stroked his hand and swallowed hard. He was worried about the quadruplets. They were coming early, and that worried him.</p><p>Smidge wasn’t far behind Stream. She had Pumpkin with her. She had tried to take him to Creek and Guy Diamond’s flower pod, but he wouldn’t let her go. He had insisted he go too.</p><p>Pumpkin let Smidge’s hand go when they got to the medical pod. He hurried over to Basil’s bed and climbed onto it. He could tell that Basil was in pain. He didn’t like it. “Be nice to daddy Basil, sissy…”</p><p>Poppy came in several minutes later. She walked over to Basil and sat beside him. She stroked his hair and kissed his forehead. “I remember being with you when you had the twins. Seems like yesterday.”</p><p>“I was terrified back then.” Basil smiled softly. “Still terrified now, but it’s not as bad as it was then.” He had Pumpkin snuggled to his chest. He had no problem having his little godson there. He thought it was cute that Pumpkin thought he was having a girl. He thought Rainbow was going to remain his only girl. He squeezed Stream’s hand during the next contraction. He was glad he actually had a hand to hold this time around.</p><p>Stream stroked Basil’s hand and smiled up at him. He knew Basil was nervous. It was all over his face and aura. “It’s going to work out Basil. Just breathe.”</p><p>“I love you sweetheart.” Poppy gave him another kiss and rested her hand on her belly. Her own twins were excited and kicking.</p><p>Smidge trembled with excitement. She couldn’t wait to see the quadruplets. Basil had told her she could borrow them whenever she needed a baby fix. She still hadn’t gotten pregnant again since losing her little girl.</p><p>It took a few hours for Basil to get the urge to push. He bared down and squeezed Poppy and Stream’s hands as he worked on getting the first baby out.</p><p>Fairy was ready and watched as four legs began to emerge. “You got a set of identical twins trying to come out at the same time Basil. Hold on daddy, I’m going to try to convince them otherwise.” She tried to manually move one of the twin’s legs back inside, but she was having trouble with it. She couldn’t get them apart. She took the brakes off the bed and wheeled him to the back. “I’m sorry Basil, you need a cesarean section.” She gave him a sedative and waited for it to take effect.</p><p>Basil looked worried. “Are my babies OK?!” He groaned, as the sedative quickly started to affect him. “Please save them…”</p><p>Poppy, Stream, and Smidge looked alarmed. They watched as Fairy took Basil to the back, with a few of the medical pod staff. They hoped that the quadruplets were OK.</p><p>As soon as Basil was out cold, Fairy got to work on removing the quadruplets. She got the identical twins out first. They were boys, that were lavender, with light blue and green two-toned hair. They were conjoined by the hip. “That explains why they wouldn’t separate.” She gently gave them to a medical troll and worked on getting the other two out. She pulled out a yellow girl next, that had bright orange hair. She handed her over and pulled the last baby out. This one was dwarf sized, was turquoise, and had blue green hair. She gave her to one of the staff, and then got to work on cleaning Basil up and stitching him closed.</p><p>The surgical room quickly filled with the wails of four, premature but healthy trollings.</p><p>Fairy finished getting Basil stitched up, made sure the babies were alright, and then went to the main room. She walked over to Poppy and smiled softly. “All five are doing just fine. Basil had two boys and two girls. The boys are connected by the hip. It’s very rare, but sometimes when identical twins are born, they are connected like that. I should be able to separate them when they’re a little older. It doesn’t appear to be as bad as I have heard of. It wouldn’t be as easy if they were connected by the head or belly.”</p><p>Stream looked stunned. He hoped his sons were alright. “Can we see them?”</p><p>“As soon as they are stable.” Fairy nodded and turned to go back to go help.</p><p>It took a couple of hours for Basil to wake back up. When he did, he immediately felt his belly. It was painful and puffy from swelling. “My babies?” He whispered. He was very worried about his newborns.</p><p>“They’re alright.” Poppy gently gave him the conjoined twins. “You had two boys and two girls. The boys are joined at the hips.”</p><p>Basil inspected his sons and smiled softly. “Joined at the hip. There is a joke there, somewhere…” He chuckled groggily. “Hello sons…” He thought for a moment. “I want to name them Splash and Crash.” He smiled when he felt Stream place his daughter next to the boys. “Hello sweetheart…”</p><p>“Pumpkin told me this one is a baby Bask was pregnant with. She looks just like him.” Stream looked so confused but was amused that this happened. It was unheard of.</p><p>“Yeah…and the last of the quadruplets is the baby I was pregnant with. Our daughter…” Smidge still had the little one in her arms. She didn’t want to let her go.</p><p>“You did a good job Basil. We owe Pumpkin and Rainbow for these two girls.” Poppy kissed him all over. She was glad he was OK.</p><p>Basil looked amazed. He got to have a third Bask baby, over six years after losing him. He held the three he had close and sniffled. “The girls are named Sunshine and Dawn.” He was exhausted, but glad that the quadruplets were healthy. He thought about Dawn. He may have carried her, but she was originally Smidge’s baby. Part of him wanted to keep her, but he knew Smidge deserved her after all that she went though. He decided to think on it.</p><p>“They sound like perfect names.” Stream watched on with a smile. He was glad they came out healthy. He still had to have his triplets, and Poppy needed to have her twins, but so far everything seemed to be working out just fine.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. A Worried Mama</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Poppy has a rough morning.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Later that morning, Branch came to visit with Rainbow, Dill, and Pumpkin. He walked over to Basil and smiled at his little brother. “They’re beautiful.” He looked over at Stream, Poppy, and Smidge. “Don’t worry about the kids. I’ll watch them until you’re ready to go home. Especially since Basil had surgery.” He went to pick up Splash and was surprised to find that he was attached to Crash. “I’ve never seen this before.” He wasn’t sure what to do or say. He gently gathered both boys into his arms and held them close. They were now crying, from being jarred uncomfortably. “I’m sorry little ones. I didn’t know.”</p><p>Pumpkin had ended up being dragged to Branch’s bunker, before Basil was ready to push really late the night before. He was cranky, because he felt that he missed out on a lot and he wanted to stay with his papa Basil. He glared at his mother, who was the one who had taken him there in the first place.</p><p>Rainbow looked at the girls and smiled widely. “Hi sissies! Now I get to hug you.” She reached over and ran her hand along Dawn’s back. She had a proud look on her face. She helped with that.</p><p>Dill took Sunshine’s hand and smiled when she wrapped her fingers around his finger. “They’re very tiny.”</p><p>Basil was groggy from pain medication. He groaned and cracked his eyes open. He could feel that Branch took his boys. He still had his daughters on his chest. “Be careful. The boys are attached. Fairy called them conjoined twins.” He was very sore and cranky.</p><p>Smidge ignored the intense glare from her son. She had her hand on Dawn’s hand. She had been very insistent on keeping physical contact with the tiny girl.</p><p>“We appreciate that you’re willing to watch them.” Stream watched the trollings and nudged his son closer. “Say hi to your brothers and sisters. Their names are Crash, Splash, Sunshine, and Dawn.”</p><p>“They’re pretty.” Pumpkin rubbed his eyes and yawned. He was sleepy, from a restless night of sleep.</p><p>Branch sat down by Poppy and held the boys to his chest. They were starting to calm down. “Are you doing alright Poppy? You look tired and haven’t said a word, which is weird for you.” He sighed tiredly. He had recently found out that Bruno had gotten him pregnant, and he had gotten Cherry pregnant. He was worried about his pod. He had taken some heavy pain killers during early pregnancy. It was plaguing his mind. He didn’t want his baby to go through what Petal went through.</p><p>“I’m in labor.” Poppy whispered softly. She thought at first that they were cramps, but they were getting stronger. She looked very worried. She gasped when she got scooped up by Mama Goldie and placed on a bed. She wasn’t used to being picked up by anyone other then Basil. She winced when she was checked. “I’m sorry…” Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She was very worried. Her last pregnancy was born early too, and Angel hadn’t survived her birth. She was petrified that she would lose her twins too.</p><p>“Wow Poppy, you’re ready to push. You haven’t said anything?” Mama Goldie was shocked. She was surprised that Poppy had stayed quiet this time. She got ready with a blanket and looked up at the worried mama. “Go ahead and push when you get the urge.”</p><p>Branch got up and frowned. He gently put the twins on Basil’s chest, and then escorted Rainbow, Dill, and Pumpkin towards the door. Of course, all three of them didn’t want to go. Especially with how scared Poppy was. He couldn’t get them out of the door.</p><p>Basil wanted to get up and comfort her but couldn’t because he had babies and a very painful belly. “You can do it Poppy. I believe in you.”</p><p>Stream got up and walked over to Poppy’s bedside. He took her hand and held it. He grimaced, feeling his own contraction. “Must be a full moon…” He looked nervous. This was his first pregnancy, and this meant that all nine babies were going to be early.</p><p>Poppy bared down and began to push. She frowned when Rainbow crawled into bed with her. “You three should go to the bunker.” She trembled with worry. She continued to push and looked up when she gave birth to a baby girl.</p><p>The little one was lavender, with capri blue hair. She cried as Mama Goldie cleaned her up.</p><p>Mama Goldie gently put the newborn on Poppy’s chest, and then grabbed a second baby as Poppy pushed her out. This one was turquoise, with pink hair. She sat her down next to her sister and smiled when she began to cry. “She looks exactly like Angel.” She wondered if she came back, the same way Sunshine and Dawn did.</p><p>Rainbow watched on with a scrunched up look on her face. “That’s yucky...” She smiled at her sisters as they cried. “Angel is back!” She got excited when she realized it. She reached over and gave her sisters a kiss on their heads. “Welcome back!”</p><p>Poppy had a shocked look on her face as her daughters cried on her chest. “They’re alive. Oh my god, my babies are alive.” She looked down at them and breathed hard. She was so glad they were OK. “Their names are Lilac and Chrysanthemum.” She wanted Angel to have a new name.</p><p>“Good job Poppy!” Basil smiled widely. He was glad to hear those newborn cries. It sounded like the girls were just fine.</p><p>Stream got up and looked at their babies, and then cringed and bared down. He grunt as he pushed. “Oh my god…” He couldn’t stop pushing. “I should have got into a bed.” He couldn’t move.</p><p>Mama Goldie gently removed Stream’s pants and caught a baby boy as he was born. She put him down by Poppy, and then helped Stream into a bed. “It’s alright daddy. I got him.” She was surprised he didn’t say a word.</p><p>Smidge had come over to look at the twins. She frowned and began cleaning Stream’s first baby. She was surprised that Stream was this close to having his own babies. She sighed in relief when he began to cry. He looked just like Basil. She picked him up and carried him over to Stream. “He’s so cute.”</p><p>“His name is Lucky.” Stream felt it was appropriate, considering they almost lost the triplets. He pushed for the second baby and yelped when a baby girl came out. He widened his eyes, feeling a second baby girl quickly follow her sister out.</p><p>Mama Goldie barely got the second baby caught, when she saw the third make her way out. “Another set of identical twins.” She began cleaning them both. She smiled when they began to cry.</p><p>Both twins were lavender, with light green and green two-toned hair. They were healthy, despite being early.</p><p>“You two had those babies so fast.” Branch looked stunned. He was still trying to convince Dill, Rainbow, and Pumpkin to leave, but they were not having it.</p><p>Stream breathed hard and looked at his girls. “Miracle and Precious.”</p><p>“I’m so proud of you and Poppy.” Basil had a proud smile on his face. He did this, proudly.</p><p>“They’re beautiful.” Smidge gave Stream a kiss. She was so glad it came out good in the end.</p><p>“Thank you Rainbow, for saving your sisters.” Poppy whispered. She held her daughters close and closed her eyes. She was exhausted and sore, but very glad that her babies were OK. All nine of them. She hoped that they continued to do well and had a bright future ahead of them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. He Had No Right</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sapphire makes a heartbreaking discovery.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A week after nine premature babies were born between three parents, Rhapsody was on the way to the medical pod with Sapphire. She hadn’t been feeling good, and he was hoping she had finally become pregnant. He had Petal beside him as he carried his sickly wife into the medical pod. He sat her down in a bed and stepped back. “She’s been sick to her stomach for a couple of days now.”</p><p>Petal hobbled over to the bed and tried to climb on. She couldn’t get on. She smiled when her mama lifted her up onto the bed with her hair. “Thank you, mama…”</p><p>Mama Goldie walked over and checked Sapphire over. She put a cool cloth on her forehead and gave her something for nausea. She checked Sapphire’s belly but didn’t find a baby inside of her. “It’s not pregnancy. It appears to be a stomach bug.”</p><p>Sapphire frowned and teared up. It wasn’t fair. She wanted to have a baby so badly. She shifted onto her side and groaned in discomfort. “I want a baby so badly…” She put Petal down on the floor, so she wouldn’t catch what she had.</p><p>Petal frowned and crossed her arms. She huffed and hobbled over to Basil’s bedside. “Uncle Basil!” She put her arms up. She wanted to cuddle with him. She hadn’t seen him in a few days and missed him. She smiled when he picked her up and set her down beside him. She snuggled into him and smiled. “I love my uncle Basil. Mama won’t let me cuddle…”</p><p>Basil held his niece closely. He was sore from his surgery and felt helpless. He didn’t like it one bit. He hoped trolling snuggles helped. “I’ll cuddle with you sweetheart.”</p><p>Poppy was in the medical pod still. Basil needed a lot of help, and doing it alone was nearly impossible when she was still recovering for birth herself. She felt staying in the medical pod a little longer was a safe bet. She got up and walked over to Sapphire. “Sapphire?” She looked nervous. “I been wanting to talk to you, but I haven’t been able to put the words together. It’s about your baby pod…”</p><p>Rhapsody frowned and looked at Poppy. “What about it?” He looked worried. He hoped something wasn’t wrong. They both wanted to have a couple more kids.</p><p>Sapphire looked up at Poppy. “What is it?” </p><p>“I’m still going through the journals Olive wrote while he was practicing as a doctor, and I found out he had removed a few mother’s pods, without their permission and never told them about it. You were one of those mothers.” Poppy looked sad for her sister in law. It wasn’t fair. Rhapsody didn’t even have a biological child at all. Petal was adopted by him, but she felt that he deserved to have a baby with his Sapphire. It wasn’t going to happen now. “He wrote that you could have died in childbirth. When you had your appendix removed, he removed your pod too. I’m so sorry.”</p><p>Rhapsody cringed and looked down at his wife. He knew there were risks if Sapphire got pregnant, but it was a risk that Sapphire was willing to take. He was speechless. He knew Sapphire wanted a baby with him so badly.</p><p>Sapphire broke down and began to cry. “He had no right!” She put her face into her hands and sobbed. There was nothing they were going to be able to do to help her get pregnant. It wasn’t fair at all. “This is why I haven’t had a period in a few years. That bastard!”</p><p>“Let us know if there is anything, we can do to make this wrong a right. I’m sorry…” Poppy gave Sapphire a gentle hug. She couldn’t imagine. It was clear that Olive hadn’t removed her pod, but it was still scary. She was still finding out some more of the horrible things he had done. He had really messed with so many trolls.</p><p>Rhapsody hugged Sapphire and Poppy. He was sad and wasn’t sure what to do to make this better.</p><p>“Why is mama so sad?” Petal looked at Basil with wide, worried eyes.</p><p>“A mean doctor took away your mama’s ability to have babies sweetheart. She wanted you to have a brother or sister.” Basil held Petal close. Technically Petal had two sisters and a brother, but it wasn’t fair that Petal was going to be raised alone and it wasn’t fair that Rhapsody wasn’t going to have any biological children.</p><p>“That’s very mean.” Petal looked angry. She wanted to beat up whoever it was that made her mama so sad. </p><p>“I’m sorry I can’t give you a baby Rhapsody.” Sapphire sniffled and rubbed her face of tears. “This isn’t fair for you at all.”</p><p>Poppy moved out of the way, so that the couple could process this difficult news. She glanced at her twins and teared up. They had fourteen children, and Sapphire only had one. An idea came to her. She gently picked up her newborn girls and carried them over. Her heart was beating hard in her chest as she stood beside them. “I know they won’t replace what you can’t have but…” She tried offering them to the sad couple.</p><p>Basil grew really quiet. He wasn’t so sure about this, but it was his sister who would be taking care of their twin girls. He hoped that Poppy didn’t regret this later.</p><p>Rhapsody looked at Poppy with wide eyes. This was a surprising development. Especially after Poppy had lost her last pregnancy.</p><p>“No Poppy, those are your babies, and you fought hard for them. I can’t take them. I’ll visit them and their siblings often though.” Sapphire sniffled and snuggled into Rhapsody. She didn’t want to touch the premature babies at that moment. She didn’t want to make them sick.</p><p>“The offer stands if you change your mind.” Poppy carried her girls back over to the cradle their brothers and sisters were in. She sat them down beside Crash and Splash. She got to work on changing diapers. She could smell that at least one of them had soiled themselves.</p><p>Rhapsody ran his hand through his mate’s long, royal blue hair. She was very brave for turning down those babies. He had her look up and smiled at her. “I love you and will be with you no matter what. It’ll work out alright. I don’t have to have biological children.”</p><p>“I love you too, Rhapsody…” Sapphire looked into Rhapsody’s dual colored eyes and couldn’t help but to start crying again. He was so sweet to reassure her that he was alright with this, but she wasn’t alright with this at all. She cuddled up to him and hiccuped. She was determined to figure out a way for them to have one more baby. It wasn’t going to be hers, but she was going to find a way for him to have a baby too. It was only fair after all that he had done for her that last six years.</p>
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<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Furious Mama</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sapphire finds out more devastating news.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took a few days for Sapphire to feel better. The first thing that was on her agenda was to help Poppy read through the old doctor’s journals. She spent the next two weeks reading constantly. She often did it snuggled up with Petal. Rhapsody helped her read the journals as well. Both of them wanted to find out what else the nasty doctor did. One evening, while reading through one of the journal entries, Rhapsody looked up and growled. “He didn’t…” He got up and walked over to Petal. He picked her up and then laid her down on the couch. He looked at her belly and frowned. She had a scar, where she had a hernia repaired when she was still a tiny baby. He didn’t want to believe that Olive did something bad to Petal too. He was fuming with anger, but he didn’t want to scare Petal.</p><p>“What’s wrong daddy?” Petal looked confused. She teared up, thinking something bad was wrong with her. Her parents had been crying a lot lately.</p><p>“Is Petal alright?!” Sapphire propelled over and looked at Petal. She was alarmed and worried.</p><p>“He removed her pod, too! He said it was so that she couldn’t have children due to her condition. He thought she would be unable to care for babies.” Rhapsody picked up Petal and held her close. He couldn’t believe this was happening. “Our poor baby…”</p><p>Yep, something was definitely wrong. Petal began to cry hard. She didn’t like that her daddy was upset. She looked at her mama with worried light blue eyes.</p><p>Sapphire was livid. How dare he do that to her baby. Even if Petal was not able to care for her own children, it wasn’t his choice to make. She glared at the wall and crossed her arms. She was inwardly cursing but refrained from lashing out. It was clear that Petal was frightened. “I don’t like this. This could be bad for Petal. If not physically, it will certainly be devastating emotionally…”</p><p>Rhapsody cradled their daughter and frowned at the thought. “I’m going to do some reading on it, but it might affect her in more ways than one.” He wasn’t sure what to do. Their only baby wasn’t going to ever have children. Sapphire had talked about asking for help, since he could still have children, but he wasn’t sure who to ask. He had also found out recently that Harmony was also one of the mamas that had lost her pod. It wasn’t fair. Olive affected the colony a lot. It could have devastating consequences for the future.</p><p>“Was I bad?” Petal sniffled and snuggled into Rhapsody. She didn’t want to be in trouble.</p><p>“No sweetheart, you were not bad. Come to mama…” Sapphire gently took her daughter into her arms and held her closely. Petal was still incredibly tiny for her age but was a fighter. She didn’t think she deserved the heartache that life had given her so far.</p><p>“Let’s go talk to Mama Goldie. She’ll know what might happen.” Rhapsody got ready to go, and then helped Petal into a warm outfit. He picked her up and headed out the door with her.</p><p>Sapphire put a blanket over her lap and put on her coat. She headed out the door and propelled towards the medical pod.</p><p>Petal closed her eyes and sniffled. She was not in trouble, but she was still confused and upset.</p><p>Rhapsody came into the medical pod. He walked up to Mama Goldie and frowned. “We found out more bad news. Olive removed Petal’s baby pod. What affects could this have on her health?”</p><p>Sapphire wasn’t far behind her mate. She parked next to him and gave Mama Goldie a worried look.</p><p>Mama Goldie took the six-year-old into her arms and sat her down on a bed. She was sad for the little one. She was so sweet and didn’t deserve this. “This won’t have much affect now, but it might be more devastating when she hits puberty. She won’t ever have a period. She’s not going to have children. It might affect her growth too. I haven’t heard of a child losing her pod. How old did he say she was?”</p><p>“In his journal, he said he did it when her hernia was fixed.” Rhapsody looked worried. Petal might be tiny for the rest of her life. He was determined to protect her. She was the only biological child Sapphire was ever going to have.</p><p>“That was done when she was three months old.” Sapphire broke down and began to cry into her hands. She was her baby’s protector, and she felt that she failed her.</p><p>“She was so little. I’ve never heard of it happening to a baby that young.” Mama Goldie checked Petal over. “She is healthy and tough though. We’ll get her through this.” She gave the little one a hug. She could see that Petal was frightened. “You’re tough like your mama. You’ve got this, don’t you sweetheart?”</p><p>“I am tough…” Petal snuggled into Mama Goldie. She still didn’t understand what was going on, yet. She was just upset that her parents were upset. She thought of going and getting her uncles and aunt. She wanted whatever it was that made her parents upset to be beaten up.</p><p>“We’ll take good care of her, just like we both promised her when she was a newborn.” Rhapsody joined in the hug. He had his concerns but was trying so hard to stay positive for his girls.</p><p>Sapphire sniffled and gently took Petal into her arms. She held her to her chest and sniffled. She wasn’t sure what to think of all this yet. She wanted her baby safe. Tears ran down her glittery cheeks. She wanted the best for her baby. It seemed Petal’s future was going to be rocky now, and that made her furious. She didn’t think her baby deserved this at all.</p>
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<a name="section0024"><h2>24. A Weird Idea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sky comes up with an idea to help his and Sapphire’s families.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A month later, Sky was preparing dinner. He had invited Sapphire, Rhapsody, and Petal over. He wanted to have a serious decision with Rhapsody. They had both received some frustrating news about their wives, and he hoped that his idea would make it so that they could have babies, to add to their families. He wasn’t sure how Rhapsody would take it, let alone Sapphire. They had had a rocky relationship, considering he had unintentionally pissed Rhapsody off when he had mated with Harmony underage, and he had been a bit controlling of when Sapphire was allowed to mate with Rhapsody. He thought it had only been fair for Sapphire to wait until she was the right age, since Rhapsody had been so overly protective of Harmony. Now he regret making her wait. She had lost her pod without ever having a baby with the one troll she really loved. It wasn’t fair for her at all.</p><p>Sapphire arrived at the bunker and came right in. She went into the main room and sat Petal down on the ground. She had ended up fading gray, after it all sank in that she would never have another baby and would never be a grandma. The news didn’t settle well with her at all.</p><p>Petal hobbled off to go play with her cousins. She was back to her old spunky self. She didn’t like that her mama was gray, but she couldn’t get her mama happy enough to regain her colors.</p><p>Rhapsody wasn’t far behind her. He had a bowl of potato salad. Sapphire had made it to have with dinner. He sat it down on the counter in the kitchen. “Dinner smells good.” He noticed there was a lot of dishes. He walked over to the sink and began to wash them.</p><p>“How is Sapphire holding up?” Sky glanced into the main room. He could see that Sapphire was quite depressed, but he hoped that time had helped her cope. He was worried about her.</p><p>“As well as anyone could with the bad news she has received.” Rhapsody looked sad. “I’m so worried about her. She has distanced herself and has told me that I can move on and find a mate that can give me a family. I would never leave her. She’s been the best thing that has ever happened to me.”</p><p>Sky shook his head. “She had high hopes of having a baby with you. She loves you with all her heart. You saved her life six years ago, and she hasn’t forgotten that. She’s just scared, for a lot of reasons. I can’t say I blame her either.” He had coped with finding out Harmony lost her pod too, and the couple were taking it better than Sapphire was, but they both were hoping for more then two children. Rhythm and Leaf was sweethearts, but they had talked about having three or four children, not just one of each.</p><p>“I don’t blame her either.” Rhapsody finished cleaning the dishes, and then grabbed a roll. He brought it into the main room and sat by Sapphire. He split it in half and shared it with her.</p><p>Sky watched him go and smiled softly. “Don’t worry sister, I got you covered.” He whispered, before turning back to dinner. It was almost done.</p><p>Once dinner was ready, Branch, Cherry, DJ Suki, Sky, Harmony, Rhapsody, and Sapphire settled down at the large table with their families. They all began to eat quietly at first. Sapphire kept glancing at Branch and Cherry. Both were fairly round in the belly. She wished she had that, but knew it wasn’t going to happen.</p><p>Sky looked at Sapphire and gave her a warm smile. He could see that she was envious of Branch and Cherry’s current states, even though they all knew Branch and Cherry hadn’t asked for it. “I have an idea, and I talked it over with Harmony. She likes the idea, but I want to go over it with you and Rhapsody.” He looked between them. “We both want to have at least one more kid, and you both want at least one more kid. I was thinking if Rhapsody and I mated, we might be able to complete our families. The kids will still be related to their mothers, even though they didn’t come from them. What do you say?”</p><p>Sapphire dropped her fork and looked between them with wide eyes. Her older brother just asked to mate with her husband. It was a very awkward idea. She wasn’t sure what to say.</p><p>“Mate with you? You do recall that we fought a lot the first three years that we knew each other, right?” Rhapsody looked shocked. “I wanted to kill you when you mated with Harmony, when she was still underage.”</p><p>Harmony let out a nervous giggle. She remembered that all too well.</p><p>“I think you should do it. You two would make cute kids, and it keeps this within the family.” Branch smiled at them. He knew it was awkward, but he was just as willing to help Sapphire as Sky was. He wanted to see her happy again.</p><p>“You know mating outside of marriage is illegal.” Sapphire hesitated and looked between her eldest brothers. “We voted about it just months ago, and a majority of the colony had said no.” She sighed and looked down at her dinner. She had been one of the ones that neglected the idea, but now circumstances beyond her control had her changing her mind.</p><p>“It is illegal, but I’ve talked it over with Poppy and Basil. They would allow it for this situation. It’s similar to what happened to Smidge. She was struggling to have a baby, so she found a surrogate. Rhapsody and I could be surrogates, if you let us.” Sky smiled at them. He hoped they would agree.</p><p>“You two put a lot of thought into this, didn’t you?” Rhapsody sighed when he saw Harmony and Sky nod. He looked at Sapphire and frowned. “What do you think of this? It means I could have kids, like you want.”</p><p>Sapphire leaned back in her chair and sighed. She thought for a moment, and then nodded slowly. “Alright, but I’m not watching this. I don’t want to see my brother mate with my husband.”</p><p>“I agree with you there, Sapphire. We can watch the kids. I don’t want to take part in it either.” Harmony smiled softly. There was no way that she wanted be in the same room when they mated. They were going to be on their own.</p><p>“Then it’s settled. We’ll start trying, whenever you’re ready to try it Rhapsody.” Sky winked at Rhapsody and went back to eating.</p><p>Rhapsody grumbled that he might have to get drunk in order to mate with Sky. He would do anything to make Sapphire happy, but this was a little weird. He glanced at Sky and smiled softly. “Let’s start trying right away. I want my wife happy again.”</p><p>Sapphire reached over and took Rhapsody’s hand. She whispered to him thank you, and then went back to eating. A little spark lit up in her eyes. They might have a baby after all. It wouldn’t be from her loins, but it would still be biologically related to her. It gave her hope. It was even better that Sky was the same colors she was, sans glitter. She was grateful for that.</p><p>Branch smirked and got up. He went to pour a glass of wine for Rhapsody and Sky. He was more than happy to help.</p><p>A few hours and several glasses of wine later, Sky and Rhapsody were staggering drunk. They had moved themselves to a spare bedroom, leaving Harmony and Sapphire to watch Petal, Rhythm, and Leaf play and to chat.</p><p>Sky staggered into the bedroom and began searching for messaging oil. He hoped it would help with the mood. He found some and turned to Rhapsody. He had him lay down on his belly. He put some vanilla scented massaging oil on his hands and rubbed his hands together, before reaching down and making work of Rhapsody’s tight muscles. He groaned, noticing how stiff he was. “You’ve been stressed. I can fix this…” He worked on his shoulders first and began making his way down.</p><p>Rhapsody murmured that he had had a stressful month. He groaned as Sky worked on his back. It was helping him relax.</p><p>Sky got to Rhapsody’s buttocks. He removed his pants and began rubbing his buttocks next. He bit his bottom lip when he felt his member swell. He worked on his bottom for a little while, before pulling his pants off. He positioned over him and began to grind him gently. He pushed his length into Rhapsody and moaned as he began thrusting, ever so gently. “You’re so tight…” He wasn’t expecting to like this so much.</p><p>Rhapsody was practically melted into the bed and half asleep when Sky pushed into him. He grasped the blanket of the bed and let out a loud moan. He shivered as he began to rock his hips in rhythm with Sky. His erection throbbed against the bed. He was liking this a lot too. “That feels so good…”</p><p>Sky pushed deeper into him and hugged him close. He was feeling a bit tipsy and didn’t want to fall over. It didn’t take long for him to cum. He whimpered in ecstasy as his seeds spilled into Rhapsody.</p><p>Rhapsody groaned when he felt Sky stop. A feeling of warmth filled him. He shuttered as Sky’s swollen cock throbbed within him. “You spilled inside of me already?” He was a little surprised that Sky didn’t last long. “Let me show you how it’s done.” He wriggled out from under Sky and repositioned Sky. He pushed his length into him and began pumping into him. He wasn’t as gentle as Sky was.</p><p>Sky moaned so loudly that it echoed throughout the bunker. He grasped onto Rhapsody and looked up at him with a look of pure bliss and surprise. He was enjoying this as much as Rhapsody was.</p><p>The two boys took turns with each other well into the night, before separating to sleep in different rooms for the night, with their wives. Rhapsody wasn’t done and ended up continuing where he left off with Sapphire, which was a relief for her. She was so worried that he would leave her. She was glad he still loved her so much.</p>
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<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Fertile Daddies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Rhapsody and Sky get the news they are hoping for, and then some.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Six weeks later, and after several attempts to get pregnant, Rhapsody was carrying Petal towards school. She was having a bad day and was having trouble walking. He was a little worried about her. Her cerebral palsy had her unsteady on her feet. He had talked to Sapphire about making her a wheelchair, but Sapphire wanted Petal to walk, since she was able to. She didn’t want her to lose the ability to walk. Once at school, he sat her down on her feet and held her upright. “Be good for the teachers, alright sweetheart?” He slowly let his grip go and smiled as she tried hard to stay upright.</p><p>Petal weaved a little bit, and then hobbled up to him. She leaned into him and reached up to his belly. She touched it with her tiny hands and smiled up at his belly. “Be good for daddy, brothers and sisters!” She squeaked when her legs gave out from under her. She plopped down on her bottom and sighed. She turned around and began crawling towards her classmates. “Daddy is going to have five babies! I counted!”</p><p>Rainbow ran over to Rhapsody and put her hand on his belly. She smiled and put her ear on his belly next. “Hello cousins. Uncle Sky is pregnant too. He’s having three babies.” She smiled when she heard a rumble from Rhapsody’s belly. “Uncle Rhapsody should eat.” She looked up at him. “You’re having five babies. They said you didn’t have breakfast!” She shook her finger at him. “You need to eat!”</p><p>Rhapsody had a look of shock on his face. He hadn’t eaten yet, because he was very nauseous. He already suspected he was pregnant, but this had him thinking he was pregnant for sure. “Five?! Three?! That’s eight babies between Sky and I…” He stumbled back a few steps and leaned on the wall. “Oh my god…” He felt a little dizzy. He was shocked. He turned and headed out the door. He wanted to get Sapphire, Sky, and Harmony. He wanted to learn more.</p><p>“You better eat uncle Rhapsody!” Dill yelled at him as he watched his uncle hurry out the door. He wasn’t amused that he hadn’t eaten.</p><p>Harper was in class that day. She walked to the door and watched her older brother retreat. She put her hand on her own belly. The kids had done the same thing to her, months ago, but she was only having one baby. She giggled and led them back inside. “He’ll eat little ones. Let’s go paint.” She didn’t blame them for being protective, but she understood that morning sickness made eating complicated and sometimes very difficult. She hoped her brother got the nutrients he needed for himself and his growing babies.</p><p>Rhapsody went home first. He came inside and looked at Sapphire with wide eyes. “Petal and Rainbow just told me that I’m pregnant with five babies?!” He thought Petal was playing, but Rainbow was usually accurate when it came to a number.</p><p>“Quintuplets? Oh sweetheart, they’re just excited because they know you want babies. They’re probably playing.” Sapphire transferred from her couch to the wheelchair. She propelled over to him and took his hand. “We can go check though, since you felt sick this morning.” She looked hopeful. She really wanted him to have a baby.</p><p>“Yeah, let’s go check. I want Sky and Harmony to come.” Rhapsody gave her a kiss, and then headed for the door. He opened their door and waited for her to leave. He closed the door behind them and headed for the bunker.</p><p>Sapphire headed for the bunker, and let herself in. She frowned, hearing the sounds of someone getting sick in the bathroom. She stopped at the door and knocked on it. “Is that you, Sky?”</p><p>“Nope, I’m alright.” Sky walked over and smiled softly. “Branch is in labor. He’s getting sick.” He opened the door and checked on Branch. He helped him stand up, flushed the toilet, and led him towards the door. “Cherry is at the medical pod already. DJ Suki and Harmony walked her there an hour ago. She went into labor too. Nausea had us running really behind at getting out the door.”</p><p>Rhapsody followed him and frowned. “I wanted to go to the medical pod for a different reason, but this works.” He wasn’t sure how to tell Sky now. Branch needed his attention more than he did.</p><p>Branch had his hand on his swollen belly. He was surprised by how much this hurt. It was no wonder DJ Suki was in a bad mood when she had had Melody, Symphony, and Jazz. He stopped halfway there and breathed through a contraction. He was trembling from pain and worry. He hoped the baby was OK.</p><p>Sapphire got ahead of them and opened the door for Branch. She smiled, hearing the soft cries of a newborn baby. “I don’t think Cherry’s baby waited for you, Branch.”</p><p>Harmony had Zinfandel in her arms and listened to the cries of Cherry’s newborn daughter. “She just had her.” She was excited about the newborns. She loved helping with the babies.</p><p>Six-and-a-half-month old Zinfandel was watching his mama with wide eyes. He had a worried look on his face. His mama had just screamed in pain as she had his sister. He didn’t understand what was going on.</p><p>Cherry had a baby girl on her chest. She was breathing hard and cradled her daughter close. “Hello baby Blossom.” She was relieved that she had finally arrived. She was done being pregnant for a little while. She had only had a three-week break between her son and daughter.</p><p>Branch came in and walked over to Cherry. He looked down at his crying daughter and smiled. “She’s so cute.” He grimaced during the next contraction.</p><p>Blossom cracked her eyes open and looked at her father. She was dark red, with light green hair. She looked at lot like her mama but had managed to grasp her grandma Gardenia’s light green hair.</p><p>“She did a beautiful job. Now let’s get you into a bed, before your baby drops to the ground.” DJ Suki led her laboring mate to a medical bed and began helping him settle down. She was nervous and excited. She was glad Branch hadn’t had his baby at home. She didn’t want to miss it.</p><p>Rhapsody came in and sat down on his own medical bed. He laid down on his side and watched the chaos from his own bed. He felt sick to his stomach.</p><p>Sky made sure Branch was set up, and then walked over to Rhapsody. “You look a little pale, Rhapsody.” He sat beside him and rubbed his back. He hoped their attempt at getting pregnant worked.</p><p>Fairy checked Branch. She found he had a little way to go, so she washed her hands and walked over to Rhapsody and Sky next. “Are you alright, Rhapsody?”</p><p>“Petal told him he’s having five babies.” Sapphire smiled softly. “Kids are so imaginative.”</p><p>“Rainbow agreed and also said that Sky was having triplets.” Rhapsody groaned and closed his eyes. “I’m so nauseous.”</p><p>Sky looked surprised. He wasn’t having any symptoms. He wondered if Rainbow was right.</p><p>Fairy got to work on giving Rhapsody something for nausea. She checked his pod and smiled softly. “Your pod is very enlarged. At least four in there for sure.” She checked Sky next and smiled up at him. “She was right about Sky. He’s carrying triplets. I want you two to eat well and rest the last couple months of pregnancy. It’s hard to make it to term with multiples.” She knew it was even hard sometimes to make it to term with a single baby, but it was worst with multiples.</p><p>“You two are very fertile.” Cherry set Blossom up to nurse. She was very surprised that they were having that many.</p><p>“I may have played a part in that.” Branch gave them a guilty look. “I gave herbs to you both in your drinks six weeks ago. It helps with fertility. It worked well…” He closed his eyes and breathed hard.</p><p>Rhapsody glanced between them all, and then rested his head back on his pillow. They were going to be so busy in about four and a half months. “Thanks Branch…” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hug him or kill him. Five was a lot of babies at once. “I think Petal might be a spiritual troll…”</p><p>Sapphire was in tears. She hugged Rhapsody gently and sniffled. “We’re going to be parents.” She was so excited. She thought about Petal and decided they would investigate if she was a spiritual troll later. If she was, she had been delayed in discovering her ability. She had showed no signs of it before.</p><p>Sky put his hand on his belly and smiled. He gave Rhapsody and Sapphire a hug, before getting up and walking over to Harmony. He gave her a kiss and snuggled up to her. “We’re having triplets.” He was so glad it worked.</p><p>The group silently celebrated for the next hour, until Branch’s own baby arrived. He came out crying loudly. He was healthy and looked a lot like Branch, except his skin was a darker shade of teal.</p><p>Branch held his son closely and smiled at him. “Hello son. I’m going to name you Thunder.” He was so glad that his baby appeared to be just fine, despite the pain medicine he took early in his pregnancy.</p><p>“He’s precious…” DJ Suki reached over and kissed him. She was so glad that the babies came out alright. She looked up at Cherry, who had joined them when Branch had started to push. She reached over and took her hand. She wanted them to be a family, but so far, the colony wasn’t budging to allow multiple trolls to marry. For now, they were going to be a family in secret.</p><p>Cherry held DJ Suki’s hand and watched Branch’s newborn son as he cried on his daddy’s chest. She was glad that nether of Bruno’s babies came out looking like Bruno. She hoped that Zinfandel and Thunder ended up being good boys.</p><p>Rhapsody and Sapphire had stayed to welcome their nephew into the world and to give Rhapsody a chance to recover from his bout of morning sickness. They watched on with their own hopes. They both wanted Rhapsody and Sky’s babies to make it, and to live long and healthy lives. Only time would tell, if their dreams would come true.</p>
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<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Diplomacy Failed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Despite everything in their power to make life easier for a handful of bonded trolls, Basil and Poppy must cope with the fact that most of the kingdom does not agree with their decisions.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>News about Rhapsody and Sky’s pregnancies quickly spread. Despite telling angry protestors that it was approved by the King and Queen, half the colony was in an uproar over it. They demanded that Sky and Rhapsody be punished for what they did. It was still illegal, and their situations were not changing the colony’s minds.</p><p>Two weeks after finding out he was pregnant with at least four babies, Rhapsody was put in front of the council, along with Sky. Punishment was not going to be deterred this time. Sky and Rhapsody were going to face a guilty charge for trying to make their families larger.</p><p>Despite Stream and Creek’s plea to let this go, Ukulele oversaw the council, and was able to overrule Poppy and Basil’s plea bargain of pod arrest for the remainder of their pregnancies, because of her charge as the eldest member of the colony, and the leader of the elders. Everyone in the council felt that her wise decisions were sound. She looked at the guilty charge with a look of disappointment. Olive’s actions several months earlier had her nervous and bitter. She didn’t want rules to change, so that rapists could get away with crimes. She felt this was necessary, to keep the peace. She hoped that her grandsons would forgive her for what she was about to do. “Rhapsody Music and Sky Thorn, I sentence you both to four months in a prison cell. You won’t be allowed out, and you will not be allowed visitors. You’ll be in solitary confinement until your sentence ends. You will each be allowed one visitor halfway through your sentencing. This meeting is adjourned.” She left without another word. She knew several of the younger trolls were angry at her but wasn’t going to let things change. She wanted the colony safe and didn’t understand why the younger generations were breaking the rules.</p><p>“No!” Sapphire sobbed into her hands. She wasn’t going to be allowed near Rhapsody, for the rest of his pregnancy. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She depended on Rhapsody for a lot of things. She was terrified and heartbroken.</p><p>Basil walked over to Sapphire and hugged her. He ran his hand through her dark gray hair. “It’s going to be alright sis. We’ll get him out before those four months are over. Just give us time. We’ll change their minds. You and Petal can stay with us in the meantime, so you’re not alone.” He didn’t want her alone right now. He was worried she might commit suicide. She was clearly very stressed out.</p><p>Harmony had her hand over her mouth. She wasn’t sure what to do. She hoped that Sky and Rhapsody would be released sooner then four months. This sort of stress could be lethal for their unborn babies.</p><p>A set of scouts led Rhapsody and Sky to the prison cells. The plan was for scouts to watch the prison cells, so that the convicts wouldn’t escape. Several trolls were very angry at Rhapsody and Sky, for the actions that led to their pregnancies.</p><p>Poppy watched on as scouts led her brother in law, and friend to their prison cells. She had a look of guilt on her face. She had thought of asking the boys to wait, until this law was discussed further, but she didn’t tell them to. She wished she had. She planned to slip in as often as possible and twist as many rules as possible so they wouldn’t be alone too much. Rhapsody and Sky were going to need prenatal care and nutrients. She wanted to make sure they got what they needed while pregnant.</p><p>Rhapsody was put in a prison cell first. He looked around and found that he wasn’t given much. There was a bed, a table, a chair, a toilet, a sink, and a few essentials. He didn’t see any books, or anything to keep his mind preoccupied. He sighed and sat on the bed. It was going to be a long four months. He thought about it and sighed. At least he was going to get the rest his babies were going to need. He hoped that he got to see Petal during this long drawn out process, but knew it was unlikely. The scouts were probably not going to let him near children for a while. He was worried about Sapphire too. He hoped someone would take care of her while he was in prison. He was going to miss his little girl and wife so much.</p><p>Sky was put in a prison cell next. It was on the opposite side from Rhapsody. He wasn’t thrilled that he wasn’t even going to be able to talk to Rhapsody through the walls. He was sure they were that far from each other on purpose. He was glad they were not killed, but he felt this was cruel. Their wives hadn’t asked for their pods to be removed, and now they were going to be alone, while their husbands were punished for a crime, they were promised they wouldn’t get punished for. He laid down in his prison cell bed and loathed over the idea that there was even a chance that his or Rhapsody’s babies might even be born in the prison cells. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>That’s the end of part 2 of “Best Friends Forever.” There is a planned part 3 and will be a continuation of this part. I hope you all enjoyed!</p>
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